Iron Legends
by neenwrites
Summary: The old lab had always been fuel for a good story, something you would half-heartedly joke about going to sometime. The legends circulated, telling of ghosts, monsters, and anything else someone would be likely to conjure up about an abandoned building. But even with all the stories meant to keep everyone away, there are still those for whom the intrigue is too tempting.
1. Chapter 1

A/N 6/13/16: Hey all! So I can't let this story go, so I am slowly going to be _remastering the whole fic_. The story will stay the same, but I want to go through and flesh it out more, do more edits, and really just spend more time on something I really enjoyed writing. Hope you all still enjoy it!

A/N: I've always liked the idea of science-fictiony labs and the things they can leave behind, and the people that can stumble upon them. This was a late-night idea that just kind of gained fuel and ran away with me. Not entirely sure yet where I'll take it but I'll keep writing while the inspiration is good.

* * *

"Levy, what are we going to do if we get caught?" The blond whined to the unrelenting blunette in front of her.

"But just imagine what kind of stuff we would find in there? I bet there are loads of text books and notebooks left behind." The girl in front, sporting wild blue waves, replied.

"Calm down, Lucy. Stop being such a wet blanket. Rebel every once in a while. It feels good." The pink-haired boy flashed a smile at the frightened blond, mirroring the confidence of the girl in front.

"Shut up, Natsu. Rebelling is staying out past curfew, not going to ax-murder-town." Lucy retorted with a glare, earning a giggle from Levy. "At night. Why are we going at night?"

"For authenticity." Natsu replied with a snicker. "It's almost Halloween." He held the flashlight under his face for effect and cackled before Lucy punched him in the arm. "OW!"

All three appeared to be around eighteen, walking in a line with Levy in front bearing the brighter flashlight, Lucy sheltered behind her, and Natsu bringing up the rear.

"The lab's been abandoned for years. No one even knows it's here anymore. No cops or anyone is going to be out here this late." Levy added. "It'll be fine, we'll be in and out in no time. I just want to look." Lucy let out a dramatic groan in response.

Levy saw little reason to keep talking, and trudged onwards through the dense forestry, her excitement spurring her forward. The decision had been made to come out here a few days ago, when Levy's ambition to visit the abandoned lab was ignited after flipping through some urban legend books during a slow shift at work, and was surprised to see Magnolia had made the list. Curiosity stoked, Levy asked around a little, getting little information but just enough to leave her hungering for more. Mostly word of mouth and what she could find from the urban legend texts. They spoke of breakthrough experiments and hush-hush science that was _definitely_ not FDA approved that went down in that building, and she wanted a look around. The texts that could have been left behind were beyond tantalizing for the bookworm. Because what else would be there other than ruins and old books?

The three had been walking for at least an hour, before they finally came to the old, twisted and vine-covered chain-link fence. Rusted 'No trespassing' signs hung along periodically, and while those would have deterred Lucy without protest, Levy enlisted Natsu to help her find a decent spot to get through in one piece. Finally, they found a part of the fence that, curiously enough, looked like it had been run over repeatedly and flattened into the ground.

They stared a moment, before Levy was the first to move and make her way towards the massive, two-story building. "They say it was abandoned after an experiment went wrong and funding was cut after the authorities discovered how much red tape they bypassed. They just left the place with everything inside. Didn't have the money to salvage or support anything." Levy explained.

"And who is 'they?' How do we know we aren't going to find something else in there? Or at the least something that could get us in trouble for knowing?" Lucy prompted, still trying to find some way out of it even though they were making their way across the facility's yard at this point.

"It's all rumor, Lucy. I couldn't find anything too concrete. We might not find anything at all," Levy responded.

The front doors were smashed off their hinges, discarded by the entrance and dented beyond recognition. They stared at the destroyed doors, before moving onwards inside into the dirty, dank room. Levy mulled over her last words for a moment, but urged herself onwards. She had made herself the initiator here and she couldn't back down from that now.

Levy moved her flashlight to catch every detail, walking eagerly through what appeared to be the lobby and looking at what machinery was left. "Woah…" She mumbled, moving more tentatively as her companions fell silent behind her, observing. She wanted to head upstairs, but doubted it possible or safe because of the damaged staircases. But after a while, she was surprised to find another staircase leading down, beyond a destroyed door. Levy looked back at the others, before she headed for them.

"Levy…those stairs don't look good at all," Natsu cautioned.

"They're fine," she assured, proceeding. They creaked in protest, but the stairs held her as she and the others moved down. It was like a whole other facility opened up downstairs, full with all sorts of equipment, separate rooms, and large glass holding tubes.

The others followed close behind, tense. The shadows danced as they walked through, and there was more than enough space for things to hide in a space like this.

All three jumped when they heard a sudden sound, like something being dropped to the ground. Their flashlights went in every direction to find something, with Lucy whimpering in fear. Thankfully, their lights only saw rats.

"It's nothing," Levy assured with a little shake in her tone. She started to head deeper into the room, to the holding tubes. They were large enough to hold a person…or even something bigger. Some were empty, some filled halfway with a strange cloudy liquid, and some smashed open. _Something definitely went on in here…_ She thought, moving on towards what looked like cages: small, large, and massive. _What was held in here…?_ Levy mused to herself, looking at the machines and shelves. Syringes, jars, and a million other things that just looked weaponized, and straight out of a movie.

She peered into one of the smaller cages, while the larger cages were bolted to the floor. Levy gently reached up and pulled open the creaking door to the kennel and shined her light inside. She frowned deeply at the sight of old, caked grime, and some stains inside the kennel she didn't want to identify. She wanted to blame age, but the pervading, foul smell through the building hinted otherwise.

The girl shook her head, ruffling blue curls, before hearing a guttural noise from Natsu. She turned around to look at him and the profound, pallid fear in his face. "Oh come on, not you too Natsu," She tried to tease. Levy was now trying very hard to put up a front, and had been since they descended the stairs. She had been so adamant on them coming that she couldn't bear the inevitable teasing if she were to admit that she was now, definitely, afraid.

But as she moved her light to him, the fear turned out to be horror, and all color had left his face. His eyes were wide and staring just past her, mouth open. Lucy was in the same state, before lifting a shaky finger to point behind her.

Levy tilted her head and tried to inquire, "What's wrong with yo—"

 _"Grrrrrgh…."_

The blue-haired girl was cut off by what sounded like an animal, snarling too close for comfort. She felt the hairs on her neck stand up, and swore she could feel hot breath fanning down upon her. Slowly, she turned in the direction she was facing moments before, and lifted her flashlight.

 _Metal?_ All she saw was what looked like it could have been iron machinery, _Was that there before?_ She narrowed her eyes in confusion, lifting the beam until it shone on what seemed like a face in the metal, partially hidden behind other machinery. Red eyes glowed frighteningly in the dark, staring right at her and her friends. Levy felt her breath leave her in a gasp and she dropped her light. The second it hit the ground, the …thing roared in rage and threw cages everywhere. From that moment, everything seemed to happen at once and it all became a blur.

Cries of terror erupted from the group as they ran. The creature, a massive, metallic figure, took off after them in a rage, crashing through machinery and sending bottles and debris scattering. They scrambled up the damaged stairs as the monster chased after, bashing into the walls and creating the distinct sound of metal on metal. It was cacophonous chaos punctuated with the roars of a terrible beast.

They raced down the hall, fueled by the monster on their heels. Even once in the woods, they did not stop. They wouldn't dare even look back or slow down as branches and shrubs whipped mercilessly against them. Their legs took them until they heard growls no more, and finally saw city lights. The relief of familiarity hit them hard with the orange-lit street, lined by the safety of the neighborhood's homes. They took a moment to breathe, collapsing into the grass and clutching their heaving chests. Lucy lifted her pale, sweat-glistened face to say something to Natsu and Levy, but her words died before they ever reached her lips.

Only then did they realize they were one short.


	2. Chapter 2

Levy groaned, feeling as though she had been hit by a truck, slowly opening her eyes with another whimper. "Ugh…what…" She mumbled while trying to blink away the pain, and reached up to touch her hairline. She felt something warm stick to her fingers. She then felt something on top of her, and with some effort pushed it off with a loud sound. One of the kennels. Looking around the dark area, she saw her flashlight in the middle of the floor, and remembered where she was. Panic struck along with the realization, and she searched for her friends or the beast but saw nothing.

The girl crawled towards her flashlight, gripping it with white knuckles, and looked around her. Nothing but debris. She shakily pointed the beam around the room to see it in a much worse state than before. Cages ripped out of the floor, kennels scattered, and broken equipment. She swallowed hard, until she heard something coming down the stairs. Something big. Levy gasped and headed back towards the cages, looking for a way out. Nothing but a wall. She quickly cupped her hand over the light, trying to stifle her heavy breathing.

The blunette froze as the creature entered the room, and in the soft light seeping from her fingertips she could barely see it–him look around with a fanged snarl. He knew she was here. He walked to the middle of the room and looked at the blood on the ground, curiosity fading into his expression. The muscular creature bent down and touched the red liquid with his finger, and examined it after with a distracted huff.

Levy watched, taking in the details she could in the dark after her eyes adjusted. He was at definitely over six feet tall, significantly muscular. There was also the pretty glaring fact that he looked like he was made of metal, but…that couldn't be possible right? But even in the limited light, she would make out dark scales all over his body. What looked like a large, spiky mane extended down his back, and hung partially in his face; the dark color of it almost made it look like it was melting into the darkness around him. He wore little more than some tattered, brown shorts that were probably once pants and a large brown jacket.

Levy felt a wave of pain and whimpered inadvertently before she slapped a hand over her mouth; too little, too late. She had caught the beast's attention as he whirled and looked right at her. Those eyes were a radiant red, glowing in the dark and fiery with rage. She backed against the wall while her hand dropped from the front of the flashlight, realizing her mistake and the fact she had nowhere to go. Her chest heaved with quick, heavy breaths and blood trickled down the side of her face from small gash in her head.

The girl could only watch in horror as the angry creature stalked towards her, effortlessly pushing away cages and debris like they were toys to him. He stopped directly in front of her, arms held to the side in tight fists. She could not move, paralyzed with fear as the flashlight shook in her hands. He absolutely dwarfed her, and she had to crane her neck almost painfully to make eye contact.

He stood a moment, before he puffed his chest and growled, " _Get ouuuut."_ In as intimidating a tone as possible. But Levy was rooted, absolutely astonished that he, whatever he was, _could speak._ Her lack of compliance brought another growl ripping violently from his chest as he lurched forward and slammed a fist into the wall above her. "NOW!"

The second his fist hit, she scrambled to her feet and took off down the wall, clutching her light like a lifeline. She heard the beast roar behind her and give chase, herding her along the walls and barely slowed by anything in his way. Levy had thought that weaving through all the junk would help her, but she could hear him slam through all of it and his heavy footsteps gain on her. Tears started to stream down her face as her desperation took over.

She was running out of places to go, and while looking over her shoulder to see where he was, she tripped over something and fell hard to the cold floor, sliding until she hit something else. Levy groaned, pushing herself up and looking around with her flashlight until she comprehended where she was. To her horror, she had slid right into one of those huge cages that were rooted to the floor. She now had nowhere to go, and could do nothing but helplessly watch as he came to the front of the cage. Levy pushed herself as far back against the wall as she could, shaking like a leaf.

He stopped and his lips curled into a snarl, glowing red eyes staring inside. There was a moment of silence, before a noise of frustration escaped him. _This wasn't supposed to happen, stupid girl cornered herself the hell am I supposed to do now._

"I-I didn't mean to—" She was cut off by a harsh snarl as he bent forward, crouching down to put his face uncomfortably close to hers. She swallowed hard and leaned back a little more, wincing from another wave of pain. "Ow…" She muttered.

The beast's eyes wandered up to her forehead, oblivious to his disregard for personal space. _Ah shit, now I've done it. They weren't supposed to get hurt._ He could barely remember where he had lost control of himself, and now he had hurt someone. He may as well have been begging for more attention.

The drawn out silence caused Levy to shift uncomfortably, her eyes moving longingly to the exit behind him. When he let out a long sigh and leaned back, she looked back to him. The previous rage seething through his features had faded away, replaced by frustrated concentration.

"I-I'm sorry to bother you." Levy squeaked, immediately beating herself internally. _What was that?! I didn't trespass on the neighbor's lawn. I found a MONSTER in an abandoned LABORATORY._

The male rolled back on his heels and cocked his head backwards, lifting his brows in what looked like surprise. He had expected more screaming, the "last ditch fighting for your life" routine, or at the very least the "sobbing resignation to death" spiel. But instead this pocket-sized creature had found the breath to _apologize_ for bothering him. He had rehearsed responses for all of the aforementioned reactions. He did his thing, threw some shit around, they ran screaming, he chased a little, and they never came back. And then they told scary stories that kept others from coming back. That's how it was supposed to go. But none of this was happening how it was supposed to.

Levy, meanwhile, had felt the palpable shift in the air, and appreciated the increase in personal space he had given her. She knew he could speak some, but how much was another question. He seemed like he could understand her, albeit was taken off guard by it. _I guess that makes sense, it's not like people are likely to talk to him._ The thought actually brought a small pang of pity that surprised her. He had her trapped, perfectly, but this fact had seemed to deter him rather than prove advantageous and there had to be a reason for that.

This gave her the time to think about what this place actually was. There was a reason it was shut down and abandoned, and clearly there was a something that fueled all the urban legends swirling around this place. Having seen what it looked like inside, it was considerably more ominous than she had expected it to be. It put a terrible feeling in her gut that went beyond the fact that she had some kind of metal monster staring her down. Something went on in this building…something that clearly involved him. " _They_ did something to you. Bad things, right?" The words left her before she had realized that she was thinking out loud, and she tensed waiting for the response.

Instead, he straightened up and narrowed his eyes, but he seemed like he was trying to make a decision rather than express malcontent. After a moment, he looked to the side and nodded slowly, eyes narrowed

 _He_ can _understand me!_ She thought, eyes wide. Levy's thought must have been all over her face, because a low, warning growl rumbled in the man's chest. She flinched, but leaned forward, trying to look up at him. "Who are you?" She finally found the courage to ask. She was met with silence again.

 _Who…_ The one word stuck out to him. Not 'what.' She had very specifically said 'who.' He quickly caught himself on the road his thoughts were going down and he abruptly crossed his arms and leaned forward, reclaiming the uncomfortable closeness of before. Narrowed, red eyes scrutinized her. "That ain't _none_ of your business, shrimp." He snarled.

Levy blinked in shock, _absolutely beside herself_ that her tormentor, in this situation, at this time, made fun of her height. Of all things. She would have understood it better if he had reached out and tried to throttle her. And she could not help the instinctive puffing of her cheeks and expulsion of words from her mouth that flew out faster than she could stop them, "Excuse me?!"

The blunette realized immediately after what she had done and slapped a hand over her mouth, staring at him with bated breath. But he merely stared, slack-jawed and brows raised. As if the situation couldn't have gotten stranger, this, again, was the last thing he expected. He cracked a smirk, amused, and opened his mouth to say something in retort…but he stopped himself again and snapped it shut.

The anticipation for a response was suffocating, but a sudden sting on her scalp made Levy wince, and she raised a hand to wipe at the tickling sensation on her face. She looked down at her hand, and mumbled a quiet "Oh.." Her hand was covered in the fresh liquid, and her attention was brought back to the sharp throbbing on her scalp.

His eyes followed hers to the red on her hand and frowned. He weighed his thoughts and slicked his teeth. Before, finally, "Does…does that hurt…?" Levy's eyes shot up at the sound of his voice, rough but hushed, with a noticeably softer gaze focused on her. Speaking still felt strange for him, foreign even. And to be entirely honest he didn't know why he had asked her. He had no reason to. What he should have been doing was chasing her out of here.

Levy nodded slowly and pitifully, looking again to the exit past him. She felt anxious to leave, or to at least not be backed up against the back wall of a cage anymore. The iron creature shifted his weight, then took a few steps back to get out of her way. Levy watched him warily, before slowly hauling herself to her feet and tentatively walking out of the cage. Her foot caught on something on the floor and she stumbled, but a strong, solid, and _cold_ hand caught her under the arm, steadying her. She looked up to the man, and he abruptly released her to take an additional step back away from her. He lifted a hand and pointed across the room, "It's that way."

The exit, right. Levy smiled lightly, "Thank you…" What else was she supposed to say? Not fifteen minutes ago she thought she was going to die, and now he was showing her the way out. A thank you was the very least she could offer.

Proceeding carefully though the dark, she could see the stairs across the room, practically calling her name and they may as well have had a heavenly glow. She paused and looked over her shoulder, seeing that he had been following her, arms crossed and gaze to the side. _Well I don't blame him for making sure I actually leave._ Levy thought. In the most basic of terms, she had certainly overstayed her welcome.

An intense wave of relief washed over her when she came to the base of the staircase, followed by a discouraged sigh. They were in far worse shape than before, courtesy of the violent encounter earlier. _This is going to be a lot harder to climb up._ Especially since they seemed to be spinning and the light of her flashlight looked like it was slowly dying out…starting at the corner of her vision…

"Ohhh…" She swayed, humming in confusion, before a wave of dizziness drowned her and she closed her eyes, falling backwards. Before the small woman hit the ground, a solid grip caught her under her arms.

 _God damnit, how can someone this small be this much fucking trouble._ He just wanted to be rid of her. With the best of luck she would get some kind of amnesia when she woke and forget all about this place. _Wishful._ He thought.

He just wanted to be left alone, especially when he was like this… _Why would someone like you come here. Why would a tiny creature like you willingly come someplace so dangerous._ Because he was. Dangerous, that is. His temper worked well enough to scare people like her friends out but if he didn't keep a handle on it then it was so easy, _so painfully easy_ to hurt people.

The man sighed, hoisting her up and slinging her carefully over his shoulder. He grumbled, voicing his protest to the air, and made his way up the noisy steps to the floor above. On his way to the exit he glanced back at his cargo ever so often, just to make sure she was still breathing. A dead girl was the absolute _last_ thing he needed.

Once outside, he noticed the sky was beginning to brighten with the approaching morning, casting hues of pinks and oranges across the sky and shining on his iron flesh. _Dawn already?_

He glanced to the hole in the perimeter fence, taking a moment to think. An idea struck him, and he moved through and just past the broken barrier. He set her down gently on her side at the base of a tree, all while making sure she was well enough in the open. He reached up and gripped a low, dead branch and tore it down then kneeled down beside her.

Trying not to think much of it, he reached to her face to try and wipe away some of her blood. But something stopped him, and he took the time to study her gentle face–he could swear it was glowing–in the warmer light. Those blue curls and waves were distracting, and he could swear that this was the first time he was seeing such a color. He felt something strange stir in his chest. But a quick, aggravated huff and a violent head shake dashed it away just as quickly as it had manifested itself.

Quickly, he swiped some crimson liquid from her face, smeared it on the branch, and dropped it by her head. He took a final chance to make sure she was still alive, leaning down incredibly close to put his cheek in front of her mouth. The soft, warm breath on his cheek made his eyes flutter, and he took in a deep breath. _Lavender…._

" _Tch!"_ He recoiled, practically stumbling to his feet, and all but ran back into his ruins. _The hell was that?!_


	3. Chapter 3

"This is all your fault, Mr. Rebel! We should have gone back right away, not waited this long for her! She could be dead by now!" Lucy cried out, berating the pink haired boy in front of her. Every sentence brought another flinch from him. "No, actually, we shouldn't have done this in the first place."

"You didn't want to go back until sunup either!" Natsu tried to defend himself as he smacked a branch out of his way. "And it was your bright idea to not call anyone about it either."

"Did you want to make that call? 'Oh yeah we went and trespassed in this top secret building and found a monster and it might have killed our friend.' That would have gone over _so well_." The sarcasm dripped heavily from her tone. They had gotten into hairy things before(usually Natsu's idea), but this was the first time…really the first time they had gotten into something this serious. They weren't supposed to be fearing for their lives this young. _I am too young to lose my best friend!_

Natsu looked back at the blonde, fists balled at her sides and puffy eyes staring down at the ground in front of her. He frowned deeply and stopped to let her catch up and took her hand. Lucy looked up finally to make eye contact and Natsu tried to give her a reassuring smile, but did a remarkably poor job of it. Regardless, Lucy appreciated the effort and nodded to him as they moved forward together, trying to follow the same path they took the night before.

Their pace and the daylight brought them to the facility much faster this time, and they gasped in unison when they saw the figure on the ground. "Levy!" He shouted, no response. Natsu ran to her side and hovered over her, not sure where to put his hands. His eyes wandered to the bloody branch by her head.

"She must have been right behind us," Lucy choked out, leaning down next to Natsu, "Is she…" It came out barely as a whisper, and she shut her eyes tight.

"She's breathing." Natsu replied quickly, and he reached out to gently shake her shoulder. "Levy…!" He called to her, but still nothing. Wrinkling his brow, he moved then to scoop her up in his arms carefully.

"She looks like she's going to need stitches…" Lucy tried to keep her voice steady, but the crack in her tone as she bit back tears of relief was clear as day. For her sake, Natsu pretended not to notice and hummed in response.

"At least 'we were being stupid in the woods and she hit her head' is a better story…" He commented, and Lucy huffed a mirthless laugh.

* * *

 _Ugh….so bright…_ Honey-colored eyes blinked open, squinted painfully and closed again. "Nnnh…." She groaned and smacked her lips together, trying to wet them again.

"You're awake!" A female voice to her right startled her a little, "Levy, can you hear me?"

 _Lucy?_ The blunette tilted her head to the side and tried to open her eyes again. "Where…?" It was all she could get out of her dry throat.

"The hospital, don't worry you're okay." Lucy said quickly. "Natsu would have stayed but he said he needed to go make a cover for us not coming home last night."

 _You talk so fast…_ Levy thought, but nodded in understanding, and tried to push herself up. A supporting hand pushed her up the rest of the way, and Levy smiled gratefully to her friend. It was now that she noted the lack of pain, and reached up to touch her head, finding that her cut had been covered over by gauze and tape. "How long have I been here?" She asked finally.

"Only a few hours," Lucy answered. "You needed stitches, and the nurse said something about head wounds bleeding more than usual so you probably passed out after losing enough blood. They don't even think you needed pain meds aside from anything you can buy at the store, just rest. She said you could be discharged as soon as you were comfortable enough to walk." She explained.

Levy sighed in relief and nodded, but also was waiting for Lucy to acknowledge the elephant in the room. Her expectant glance from the corner of her eye must have cued Lucy off.

"Levy…did, all of that really happen? What was the last thing you remember before blacking out?" She asked quietly, glancing to the door. "We found you just outside the fence."

Levy lifted her eyes in surprise. _Outside?_ "I remember…" The image of red, glowing eyes flashed through her mind. _I remember seeing the stairs but that's it. How did I get outside?_ "I remember following you and Natsu. Then I think…I think I hit something. It's fuzzy after that." Lie. Why was she lying?

"What do you think that _thing_ was, though?" She pressed, seeming to buy Levy's story.

"No idea," Levy answered. "It _is_ almost Halloween. Maybe it was just some guys playing a prank." She suggested, and Lucy shot her a skeptical look. "Whatever it was, I think it's better if we don't tell anyone about it. We technically shouldn't have been there in the first place…"

Lucy brought her hand up to her mouth, pinching her lip between her thumb and forefinger in thought. "Yeah." She said finally. Levy did have a point. Like she had told Natsu earlier, it's not like anyone would believe them or hear anything other than the fact they trespassed in a highly restricted area. "I'm perfectly fine never thinking about that place ever again!" Lucy declared, met with a 'shushing' motion from Levy.

"Careful," She cautioned. Lucy looked abashed, putting a hand over her mouth. "It's agreed then." Levy added finally, "And I really, _really_ want a shower. Get me out of here."

* * *

Levy spent the rest of the day splayed out on her bed, staring at the ceiling . Her house was empty and quiet…like always. Only the muffled sound of birdsongs brought life into the place.

The house was small, simple, and easy to maintain. Her particular neighborhood was a bit outside of town, which brought the luxury of having more greenery in the form of old-growth trees that she often found herself reading under. Between a part-time (turned full-time after graduation) bookstore job, and a modest inheritance, she could pay the bills comfortably. Truly her only _real_ expenses were books and something to decorate the place a little more here and there. It had helped that the house was left to her as…well, gift doesn't really seem to be the right word. It might be best to just say, 'left to her.'

Many of her former classmates lived very close, Natsu and Lucy included. In fact she could walk quite easily to both of them. Natsu had done just that after she had gotten home with Lucy, just to make sure she was alright.

Lucy had been begging her for the months leading up to and after graduation to move in with her, but Levy couldn't bring herself to leave the house behind. In a manner of speaking, she felt it was her responsibility to keep it. She understood Lucy's motives, but the girl slept over so often and vice versa, that they may as well have been living together. Lucy had a drawer here, even.

Her eyes hardly left the white roof, while her fingers fidgeted over her stomach tirelessly. She had tried to sleep, to close her eyes and get the rest she knew she needed. But every time she closed her eyes, she could only see red eyes. All she could think about was that creature…man. His face, filled with anger and maybe a touch of fear. Levy had a hard enough time figuring out why she was still alive, it gave her even more of a headache to try and remember how she had even gotten outside.

Eventually, her train of thought slowly moved in a different direction. Levy wanted to know what happened to him. Her curiosity burned like a vicious fire in her chest: _what made him like that and what happened in that lab_. Maybe if she had gotten a hold of any of the books or journals she had hoped to find there in the first place, she might have gleaned some kind of answer.

Levy frowned and rolled over to prop herself up on her elbows, looking now at the light filtering in through her window. Her brows knit, and she nibbled absentmindedly on her fingernail. _Should I…_ She started to think, before she glanced to the side at her phone, where a message from Lucy lit up the screen periodically. " _Let me know if you wake up early, I'll come over and make dinner! 3″_

Levy looked now to the clock on the nightstand. Four fifty. Some daylight left, but not a lot.

 _Am I…_

The blunette closed her eyes, gnawing anxiously on her fingernails still. _Okay but what if…_

A small, defeated groan escaped her.

 _I'm going to._

A deep breath in, a slow exhale out, and she sat up with purpose and pocketed her cell phone. "I need another flashlight. And a backpack."

* * *

Levy tried to stick to the same path they had the night before, and the remaining daylight provided some assistance. But still, she knew far better than to let herself get comfortable in any capacity, and remained ever alert. In terms of wilderness, she was not alone in these woods. That should have deterred her, or any reasonable person like her friends, but her curiosity was her guiding factor to keep the teenager moving towards her destination.

Soon, the trees began to thin and she came to the chain-link fence again. Levy felt a strong, foreboding sense of deja vu and hesitated. _What are you doing?!_ Her more rational self berated her. Her tiny hands gripped her backpack's straps and she bit her lip, taking a small step backwards. It had taken this long for her thoughts to actually catch up to what her impulse had pushed her to do.

 _I'm…I'm here now. And I won't ever get it out of my head until I know more._ She steeled herself. Levy swallowed hard, nodded, and pushed ahead along the familiar fence. She had maybe an hour of daylight left, and she may as well take advantage of it outside where the light could actually reach. Ducking through the opening in the fence, her eyes continued to dart around the expansive, overgrown grounds of the facility, checking for any movement.

With a pop in her step, Levy quickly darted to the front of the building, getting a better look now at the smashed doors. _Could he really have done this? And all I came out with were four stitches?_

The girl slipped one strap of her pack over her shoulders so she could rummage around inside and pull out her light. She made sure to tuck a wrapped item carefully at the top of her belongings before she zipped it up and slid the strap back up. Levy swallowed hard, before pushing herself inside, treading carefully. She wasn't entirely sure where she planned on going, and thought that maybe she should head back downstairs where they first found him. _The stairs were wrecked though, I remember that much._ So that wasn't likely to be an option, okay. _I may as well try looking around more._

Her light's beam swung across her path, illuminating countless abandoned desks. She could now appreciate how different this floor looked as opposed to the basement. Sure, the unidentifiable machinery was still littered around, but between what looked like potted plants(that died who knows how long ago), assorted desks and large, dirty windows, this floor looked more like a showroom than anything else.

Her fingertips trailed lightly along a desk, shuffling papers that had nothing of real interest on them. _Looks like menial desk work._ She thought, disappointed. There was still, however, the floor that she had not get gotten to. If the basement looked as horrific as it did, it made sense that was where the work was done. This was the floor shown to donors; she could only imagine the back rooms having large projector screens and scribbled upon whiteboards. Then then top floor could have been any number of things. Could have been another experimental floor.

 _Not likely._ Levy shook her head. The next option was record keeping. Sure there were probably scribbles in notebooks downstairs, but there had to be somewhere they kept _actual_ records. And the top floor seemed _really_ promising for that. A prick of excitement flared up in Levy's chest, and she turned from the desk abruptly with an established decision in mind.

Instead of illuminating the once open room behind her, it shone mere inches from what looked like a wall of metal. A wall that started to shake with a deep, threatening growl.

Levy stumbled backwards in shock, nearly falling on her rear. Her honey-colored eyes flew up to meet _very_ red, _very_ irritated eyes. And again, she felt the words rising in her throat faster than she could think to stop them.

"I have sandwiches!"


	4. Chapter 4

"You have….what?" His resolve fell straight to the floor and shattered with the tiny, pathetic exclamation from the shockingly familiar blue-haired woman.

"S-Sandwiches. I brought them." Levy's flashlight shook in her grip. She tried to stand as straight as she could, feigning some level of bravery.

He couldn't believe the sight before him. This pint-sized, blue-haired, _ridiculous_ woman was standing there in front of him, _offering food._ But the detail that was even more baffling, _even more_ mind-blowing than anything else, was that she had come back. She had left here with a gash on her head and a pretty clear view of what he was. And yet, here she was. With sandwiches.

"What the _hell_ are you doing back here?" He growled, taking a heavy step towards her. "What do you want with me?!" The man shouted. She flinched, like he expected her to. But what he did not expect was the lack of satisfaction he was used to feeling. "You must be some kind of stupid to come out here by yourself, kid." He snarled.

"I-I thought that you probably…don't have a lot to eat." Levy said, forcing volume into her voice. "And I want to know your name." She added quickly, spitting out the rehearsed statement before she could screw it up. "If that's okay."

He was aghast, unable to keep his mouth from dropping open. This was a position he seemed to be finding himself in quite often in this curious woman's presence. And he couldn't decide how he felt about it. "…Why?" He finally replied in a quieter tone, having lost his growl.

Levy fidgeted with the hem of her yellow shirt. "Because it's nice?" What else was she supposed to say? "My name is Levy…if that helps."

What reason had he to tell her anything? He should be throwing her out of here, making her _wish_ she had never come back. Or that she'd even been here in the first place. "I could kill you." He growled, frustrated at his lack of commitment.

"But you haven't." Levy shot back, feeling just a sliver more confident.

With that little quip she had called his bluff. _It's not like I'm doing my best scare work anyway._ He thought, trying to hand himself come credit. Still, there was another drawn out moment of silence.

It was all incredibly foreign–hell, this was the most he had spoken in years–and deep in his gut he couldn't quell the ever-present fear. He was in just as much, if not more danger than she was. _Any_ time someone showed up, his entire wellbeing was at risk. His name and his existence, as far as the world was concerned, died when the lab did. And it was absolutely _vital_ that he keep it that way. The nightmares of what he had endured…what he could endure again, still haunted him.

The tiny woman standing in front of him was an astronomical danger to his secrecy.

But, at the same time, she was offering him food and asking for his name. When was the last time someone asked him that? It was a miracle he even remembered his own name. Conversely, he remembered his patient number quite clearly: X777. For the longest time that was all that anyone, and eventually even himself, knew him as.

"Gajeel." He finally said, trying to stop his thoughts on the dark path they were heading down. "My name is Gajeel." That was it, the door was open.

Levy's face lit up and was warmed by a small smile despite herself. There was a profound kindness, mixed with victorious excitement on this woman's face that could have slain Gajeel on the spot. In fact, it might have. _God damnit, what is this…_ He thought, resisting the urge to clutch his chest. _Why am I humoring her?_ He'd be lying if he tried to say he wasn't curious or that he wasn't intrigued by her. If anything she was good enough to use for a little entertainment, a break in his routine until she disappeared for good, eventually realizing that normal life was a little more appropriate than spending time with a literal monster.

"Quit lookin' so pleased, shrimp. You gonna show me what you brought or not." He finally said, putting his hands on his sides.

Levy looked flustered, as though she had forgotten about the food she so loudly proclaimed ownership of earlier. She set down he flashlight on the desk next to her, angling it such that it could provide them both with enough ambient light. She slid the pack off her back and pulled the creaky chair from the desk to set it on. From inside she pulled out four individually wrapped items. "I…I didn't know how many to bring and I ended up not having enough bread for more than this so I hope it's okay." Levy said apologetically, setting one to the side and extending the other three towards him.

"That's, that's fine." He mumbled, reaching out to take them from her. As he leaned more into the light, Levy's eyes wandered. His body had very human definition, but in this light, she could see that his skin was most definitely metal. In fact, it looked like he had scales. When he took the sandwiches from her hands, she could feel cold, smooth fingers brush against hers. _His hands are so much bigger than mine._ She noted, looking up now towards his face, of which she had a better look now in the light. _So human._ Aside from the red eyes and metal flesh, he had a remarkably human face. Studs decorated his features, along his brow, down either side of his nose, and trailing down below his mouth.

"You gonna take a picture or what?" He growled, snapping Levy from her thoughts. The girl looked away quickly, blushing furiously from embarrassment.

"Sorry!" She quipped, scrambling for her sandwich.

"Nah that's fine, stare at the monster." He growled sarcastically, "You can run whenever ya feel like it, kid." He slapped on a taunting grin, flashing dangerous fangs.

"I'm not gonna run." Levy responded, not making eye contact.

Gajeel huffed, and in one dramatic motion folded a leg and plopped down on the floor to sit. The loud, hard thud on the floor startled Levy a little, but after a moment she followed suit, a few feet from him. Gajeel eyed her intently while unwrapping one of the sandwiches, and half of it disappeared in one bite. _Damn these are good._ "What're you even doin' out here by yourself? Ya got nothin' better to do than come out looking for trouble?" He asked with his mouth full.

Levy mused over it for several moments while she chewed. _Honestly, why am I even here? I haven't even planned this far ahead, what am I supposed to do here?_ She thought. "I'm curious." She said finally, glancing at him for a reaction. He was still staring at her intently, and she felt uneasy under that intense gaze. "To be honest. I wanted to know more…about this place, you." She added, and her trailing tone indicating that she hadn't finished her thought yet. "And last night you could have…." She looked down at her hands, "And you didn't. And Lucy told me that they found me outside." She looked up now, making eye contact again. "I definitely blacked out at the stairs."

Gajeel huffed again, "I didn't need a dead girl in here 's all. If I left ya, they would have come snooping around again." He said flippantly, shoving the rest of the first sandwich in his mouth.

Levy wrinkled her nose, "I don't buy that." She stated bluntly and took another bite.

This girl was something else. She had no qualms now with calling him out. "Ya callin' me a liar?" He shot back.

She stiffened, shaking her head, vigorously. "N-no! I just, I just don't think that's it." _Annnnd it still sounds like I'm calling him a liar._ She scolded herself.

Gajeel felt a chuckle rise in him, but strangled it before he could make a sound. "You're totally sure of that, shrimp?"

"Stop calling me that! I gave you my name." She protested. "And I'm not that short…" She added under her breath.

"You're fuckin' tiny." Gajeel said without missing a beat. The desperate whine that escaped her unexpectedly twisted his stomach with a feeling that startled him. In a very–at this point–practiced manner, he ignored it.

Levy couldn't think of what to say back, and instead focused on finishing her food with a heavy pout on her face. The growing comfort of the situation was not lost on her, however. The longer she sat here, the more she felt comfortable. And that brought a sense of boldness with the questions she was dying to have answered.

"How long have you been here…?" Levy asked slowly, knowing that now she was delving into heavier conversation.

It was hard to tell, but it looked like Gajeel stiffened, narrowing his eyes a little in her direction. His gaze was prying, looking for any shred of malice, anything that would give him a reason not to trust her. But really, he had already decided there was nothing like that when he told her his name.

He let out a tired sigh, looking to the floor. "Well…I started here at…18." He held out a hand and started counting fingers. "The project lasted, three years," He looked up to Levy, brows furrowed, "What year is it?"

She was taken aback at the question, but she didn't want to stop him. "It's October, 2015."

"Oh." He rolled his shoulders, looking like he was battling something internally. "Must be about three years since it went to shit."

" _Six years_?" Levy breathed, her chest twisting in _absolute pity_. "You've been here for six years?" Another realization stuck, "You've been _alone_ for three?" _He must be so lonely…that's the only reason he's letting me be here._

"I don't need any of your pity, _shrimp,_ so you can put that shit away." Gajeel snapped, "Ain't you out past your bedtime, anyway?"

Levy shifted anxiously, that was him ending the topic and truly he had every right to. There were answers she wanted, but they were his to give. She peeked at her phone inside her bag. _It's already almost nine?_ She thought, considering again how little thought she had put into this, because now she had to walk back.

"I guess I should…" She said, before laughing nervously and rubbing the back of her head, "I haven't really slept much." Gajeel glanced at the bandage on her head and frowned.

 _The hell you feel bad for? It was her own damn fault._ He thought, huffing again.

"Hey, Gajeel?"

The man of iron jumped a little, the sound of his own name leaving him taken aback. _It sounds really nice coming from her…_ He thought, shaking his head quickly. "What?" He snapped.

"Could I, uh, would it be alright if I came back? Tomorrow maybe? I can, I can bring more food." Levy asked nervously, wringing her hands.

The surprises just kept coming. And it took him a moment to process what she was asking him. _She…she wants to come back? Here?_ He thought incredulously. He wanted to think it was a trick–a lie–because why the hell would someone like her want to come here even twice, let alone three times. How could someone like her, someone so small and fragile, willingly choose to spend time with a monster?

"Whatever, shorty." He tried to sound nonchalant. But truthfully, the idea of having company was more than appealing to him. "But you better not tell anyone, _anyone_ about it, ya hear? You come alone or else!" Gajeel barked, and Levy nodded vigorously in response.

"I promise!" She replied, overly excited that he had even said yes.

"And you don't need to bring food if you don't have enough…" He added, scratching the back of his head with a finger.

"But don't you–" Levy started to say, interrupted when he stood up suddenly, shocking her again with his height. He stepped away into the darkness, and she had started to protest when she heard something break, and he came back into the light.

He held something out for her to see, and it looked like a piece of machine. Her curious face asked the question for her, "Iron." He declared, and proceeded, much to Levy's absolute shock, to take bites from it like it was a cracker. There he was, chowing down on an actual piece of iron.

"Is…that what you eat?" Levy asked incredulously.

"If I hafta." He mumbled back, his mouth full.

"Okay." Levy responded, and she could have smacked herself for such a lame answer. She instead chose to get to her feet and gather her things, feeling like she had been here too long.

Gajeel picked up on her movements and hastily added, "Thanks. For the food."

Levy smiled again, and Gajeel felt the intruding warmth in his chest once more. "That took long enough. We're even now." Levy swung her pack over her shoulder and picked up her light.

"It's this way," He grumbled, deciding it best to not let her wander around trying to find her way out. The last thing he needed was for her to hurt herself again.

Gajeel turned, beckoned with his hand, and cleared the room towards the exit. Truthfully, he could have found it with his eyes closed. Levy, however, was not as graceful; he could hear her kick a few chairs or whatever else while trying to keep up with him, and he could not help the amusement at her whispered curses.

Levy could hear the sound of crickets getting louder and smell fresher air at the entrance and shined her light outside. Gajeel looked from the little woman to the darkness into which she was to navigate. There was a burn in his chest that rose at the thought of her getting back by herself, "You regrettin' coming back here alone yet?" He tried to joke, but the brief moment of hesitation from Levy struck him with a pang of guilt.

"I'll be fine!" She said as confidently as she could, "It's not too far, really." She added, her confidence wavering.

"Y'know there are bears out here, right?" He added, not directly trying to frighten her, but it was the result regardless.

"Yep." Levy answered, tight-lipped. "I just gotta make a lot of noise and they wont bother me." She declared, straightening up and puffing her chest out a little. The woman spun on her heel and looked up to Gajeel, "I'll be back tomorrow when I can." She said, smiling at him for reassurance.

"Don't matter either way to me, shorty." Gajeel huffed, crossing his arms leaning backwards into his ruins.

"Levy." She correctly sharply, before giving a quick nod, and turning to march off into the darkness. "Oh, and one more thing," She looked back over her shoulder, "I don't think you're a monster." And before he could answer, she was headed off.

* * *

 _You'll be fine Levy. Seriously, you haven't seen one in ages._ She thought, trying really hard to give herself confidence and not scold herself too much for thinking it was a good idea to come here alone. At night.

It was a poor decision, yes, but she didn't regret coming here again. The information she had learned tonight tore her up inside. _Three years by himself? And the other three…what did they do to him?_ Levy couldn't rid herself of the thoughts, and the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go back. _He's been alone all this time, and he's so angry but he also afraid. He's terrified of being found out…_ She continued to muse, smacking her flashlight on bushes occasionally to keep making noise.

 _And he's mean, and rude. But I think…I think he really doesn't want to be alone. That maybe he does think he has to keep hiding, but he doesn't want to be completely alone._ And the idea continued to break her heart.

Levy was so deep into her own head that it took a moment for her to realize that she heard something rustling in the vegetation around her.

Her body went cold and her stomach dropped to her feet. _Oh my god, oh my god, make noise Levy, you make noise for your life!_ Levy immediately began flailing her arms in the air, probably looking like a lunatic, and started shouting. " _No_!" Was the first thing out of her mouth, followed by incoherent screaming. _Aren't you supposed to say something like 'shoo bear?'_

From the bushes emerged nothing more than a lanky coyote, watching her fixedly. _Not a bear!_ She thought with intense relief, before realizing at the animal was still staring at her, and not backing off. Which could still be a problem. _Coyotes are flighty though._ Slowly, Levy kneeled down, keeping her eyes on the canine, and picked up a rock at her feet. The girl straightened, winding up to throw.

Before she could, a dark, snarling blur flew by her and an unspeakably intense crash followed. The yip of the coyote filled the air before it raced into the darkness, fearing for its life. The departure of one threat _would_ have left Levy feeling relieved, were it not for the fact that something else was now with her. Something much larger than the coyote.

It took her a moment to register, but she could see a hunched metallic form with a fist embedded in the earth a mere foot from where the canine had been standing seconds before.

A deep growl filled the air and Levy shook, moving backwards slightly. "You're damn useless, shrimp." His rough voice brought her to her senses, and she stared at him in disbelief.

"Gajeel…?" She choked out.

The man stood and quickly closed the distance between them and towered over her. She could have sworn she saw his eyes sweep over her briefly. "It wasn't even a damn bear and you're out here screamin' bloody murder for the world to hear, like you were…" He trailed off, frustrated. "I'm walking you home so you don't end up dead out here. That's the last damn thing I need." Gajeel declared, giving her little room to object.

Frightened, and with her hands clutched to her chest holding the rock she planned to throw, Levy nodded quickly. She absolutely wasn't going to object, because somehow the woods were more frightening than he had been at any point tonight.

 _Calm yourself down, god damnit._ He scolded himself, trying to steady his breathing and unclench his fists. The screaming and shouting were clear as day all the way at the lab for someone with hearing like his, and he was already halfway here nearly downing trees in his wake before he had realized what he was doing. _What did I do?! My body just moved on its own…_ Gajeel clenched his teeth. _I didn't…I couldn't let her…_

"I-it's this way," Levy broke him from his thoughts, awkwardly gesturing, "I'm pretty sure anyway." Gajeel nodded silently, and moved to follow her.

The quiet was unsettling, and she kept glancing over her shoulder at him. His arms were crossed, looking like they were locked there, and his gaze focused ahead past her. Levy swallowed hard, looking forward again.

The rest of the walk was in painful silence, until the yellow light of the street lamps finally started to seep through the greenery. Levy smiled in relief, stepping into the open. The blunette looked up the empty street, motioning to the line of houses. "Mine is that one, at the end. I should be fine from–" As she turned back to face him, she could see that he had fallen far behind. All the way to the tree line in fact, refusing to come into the open.

Regardless, he looked to the small house in the distance, at the end of the well-lit street. _Fitting. It's tiny too._ He thought.

Looking back to meet her gaze, Gajeel nodded and took a step backwards.

"Thank you, again." Levy called, turning to fully face him and hold a hand to her chest in earnest. "I promise I'll come back." Levy smiled. "In daylight this time." An unreadable expression crossed his features and he faltered.

 _Don't come. Stay away, just don't…_

Levy finally heard him grunt in acknowledgement, and melt wordlessly into the dark. _Did I do something?_ She thought, pausing a moment before she turned to walk into the deserted street, longing for her own bed.


	5. Chapter 5

"Levy! Are you listening to me?"

The blunette snapped to attention, focusing back on her blonde friend, "Yes, sorry! Halloween, right!"

"That doesn't answer my question, Levy. You're coming to Natsu's tonight, right?" Lucy repeated, bouncing a little on the bed impatiently. Having not heard from Levy again the night before, she came over promptly in the morning to check in on her best friend. The blunette awoke, reluctantly, to her friend bounding into bed with her and for a moment cursed giving the blonde a key.

Lucy did make up for it by making them both coffee to sip in bed, which went really nicely with the cool air wafting in through the windows and the trees rustling outside. Levy did have to suffer a minor panic attack, however, when a confused and disappointed 'why don't you have any bread for toast?' sounded from her kitchen earlier. Which inevitably took her thoughts to the night before.

"Yeah, I think so." Levy finally answered, "I don't really have a costume yet." She smiled, rubbing the back of her head.

"Levy! You'd better not blow it off this year." Lucy scolded.

"Well, if I do then you can put all your attention on one person." Levy teased with a playful wink. Satisfaction rose in her when her friend's face turned beet red, and she sputtered trying to defend herself.

"I told you there's nothing going on with me and Natsu!" Lucy whined, shoving her face back in her coffee mug to try and hide her blush.

"I never said anything about Natsu, Lu. Clearly you've got him on the brain." Levy stuck her tongue out, amusement lighting her features.

Lucy struggled even more, nearly spilling her coffee. "Sorry sorry! I couldn't resist." Levy giggled, and turned her gaze out the window. "You know I don't really like parties, especially Natsu's." She tried to shift the conversation, for the sake of her friend's dignity. "He and Gray always end up getting into some kind of shouting match and riling everyone else up." Levy shook her head, "And somehow I think that pairs badly with a firepit in their backyard and a bunch of flammable costumes."

Lucy huffed and waved her hand, "It'll be _fine_." She dismissed, "I'm sure I've got something you can wear. I might have cat ears or something lying around." Lucy mused, drawing a sigh from Levy.

"I'll leave it to you, Lu, just tell me where to be." Levy finally conceded, "You have to work today, right?"

Lucy groaned and looked at the clock: nine forty-five. "Yeah. In an hour." She answered, downing the last of her coffee. "I'm not jealous of that," Lucy gestured to the bandage on Levy's head, "But I am definitely jealous of the days off you got because of it." The blunette smiled faintly, looking down into her mug. Lucy gave her a lingering glance, a hint of concern on her features before she reluctantly crawled out of bed. "It's gonna be nuts today," Lucy whined, smoothing back her hair before flashing a smile to Levy, "I'll be over tonight after work to get ready!"

Levy laughed and nodded, "I know I know," She answered, "Try not to kill anyone."

Lucy waved on her way out, "No promises, it _is_ retail~!"

She shook her head, waiting to hear the front door shut and announce her friend's departure. As soon as she heard the click, the blunette was out of bed and rummaging through her closet for something to change into. Levy narrowed her eyes at the selection. _Do I really only buy things if they're yellow?_ There was a very clear palette preference.

Sighing in defeat, she grabbed a simple long-sleeved yellow shirt, a white bow sown onto the front of the collar, and jeans. Not wanting to bother trying to tame her wavy, curly bed-head, Levy simply ran her fingers through it a few times before grabbing a yellow scarf to tie it back with.

Honey-brown eyes swept the room around her, considering what she should bring. _I guess I don't need to bring anything to eat._ She thought. There was a pause, her face slipping into a thoughtful expression. _Last night…_ The girl had tried not to look too deeply into anything that happened mere hours ago, but the fact of the matter was that he had come to her defense. And he didn't even have to. A coyote was a measly threat, but within seconds he was there, a different kind of fury on his face than she had seen before.

 _He protected me._ She finally acknowledged. But she did not forget how quiet he had been after the event, not speaking another word to her for the rest of their time together. She wasn't even sure if the invitation still stood for her to come back. Levy considered for a moment not seeing the man of iron again, and just not going back. Of just resuming her normal, quiet life untouched by the supernatural. And that brief thought struck her painfully. Not only with disappointment, but with a different emotion that could have brought tears to her eyes.

The thought of him there by himself, trapped in those silent halls and surrounded by the evidence of every wrongdoing made against him…

Without further thought, Levy quickly grabbed her keys and phone and was about to head out the door when she hesitated. _I know what I can bring!_

* * *

He hated it. More than anything, he hated every tiny aspect about this present moment. And Gajeel had been given a lot of things to hate in the last six years. The lies he had been told, the people that had ruined his life, all of them ranked pretty high on his list. But the top spot of his list had been taken over in one night, putting everything else to the side.

Hope. There he sat, in the windowsill at the top floor of the facility, staring at the treeline with only one feeling in his chest: hope. And he _hated it._ He had been there since the sun came up, and try as he may, it was nearly a sprint to the perch at first light to watch and wait. The minutes felt like hours, and every flash of movement brought a flutter in his chest that he despised more and more each time it manifested.

He tried several times, futilely, to deflect his attention elsewhere, occupy himself with anything else. But every second not watching filled him with anxiety, because _what if he missed her._ It didn't matter that she knew where to find him at this point, he wanted to know the second she arrived.

As time pressed on and the sun sat higher in the sky, his self-preservation started to kick in. _Why get your hopes up? She was a fluke, she won't come back. Get used to it._ He berated himself. _You've already made a fool of yourself once with that idiotic stunt, getting so close to town for such a useless girl._ Every thought seemed to dim the flame, beating himself further and further down.

It was undone in a second.

In a single second accompanied by a flash of yellow and blue against a distant green background. It was far, hard to see through the fencing, but with his eyesight it was unmistakeable. Every one of those thoughts, the dark thoughts that had always been constant white noise, went silent. Red eyes went wide as she stepped out from the vegetation, looking like she was carrying a bag again.

There was another moment of hesitation as his gaze shifted down to himself, uneasiness passing through him. Regardless, as he watched her walk along the fence and find her way in, he shifted to leave his perch.

An excited nervousness spurred Levy forwards, and she thought about the contents of her pack. As she paused in the front entryway, Levy took a moment to look at the facility in new light. There was so much more to be seen, and though everything looked a lot less sinister in daylight, the decrepit building still held an air of menace.

Movement caught her eye, and she turned with a smile towards its source. "Morning, Gaj–!" The smile quickly faded, and a look of panic flew onto her face. What she had expected to see was her iron acquaintance, but instead her eyes fell upon an ordinary man, standing at the base of the stairs to the top floor.

Levy took an instinctive step back, her eyes sweeping around the room searchingly. "Y-You," She stammered, thinking only of her promise of secrecy, "You shouldn't be here!" She exclaimed, watching as the man appeared to sigh and step towards her. An action that had started to spark her panic even further, until she saw the glint of metal on his face and what looked like a nail hanging from his lips that he was chewing on idly.

The blunette paused, before recognition started to show on her features. "….Gajeel?"

"Who else, shrimp?" His rough voice answered, chowing down on the rest of the nail. Admittedly, he couldn't help but be amused by her reaction, a small grin playing on his face. _She remembered what I told her._ He thought with relief, imagining then how she might have tried to run him out of there if she didn't recognized who he was. This time, he couldn't stop the chuckle from breaking past his lips, leaving him shocked at the unfamiliar feeling. "Gi-he!"

"But, but, you're…." Levy gestured at him, struggling to find the right words, "Not metal." She finally added, before embarrassment heated her face, _Nice going! Real polite!_

"And?" Gajeel drawled, stopping a few feet from her, taking in the sight of the confused girl in front of him. _She looks different, when she's not lit up by a flashlight._ He thought. "You ain't known me that long, kid, there's a lot ya don't know yet."

Now this was a development she hadn't expected. _He can…he can change?_ She thought incredulously. "Oh." She replied uselessly. Her eyes studied him, an action that seemed to make the man uncomfortable, but she couldn't help it. The studs on his face remained, and she now noticed that he had even more running down his arms. He was just as built as his iron form, and maintained the large black mane, disheveled though it was.

"You're starin' again." Gajeel chided, though he conspicuously lacked an air of fierceness from before.

Levy could have smacked herself for doing it again, "Sorry!" She exclaimed, shaking her head to recover herself.

He shifted awkwardly, then gestured to her pack, "Whatcha got this time?" He asked, trying to shift subjects.

Levy, however, was still barely over the whole _he can change bodies_ thing. And with her burning curiosity, an idea struck her. She raised a finger, standing confidently and looking up to him with a smile. "Let's make a deal," Levy started, and he raised a quizzical brow, "Answer for answer. One of us answers one question at a time and each answer we give earns us another question in turn, until someone calls quits." She explained, "Sound good?"

 _You just get stranger and stranger, kid._ He thought, drawing a hand down his face, "Fine." He conceded, "I asked the first one." He pointed to her backpack again, and Levy flashed a satisfied smile. She looked around again for somewhere to set her things, and beckoned him to follow her as she walked towards one of the desks.

She pulled her bag off her back and set in in front of her as Gajeel walked up behind her, peering over the girl's shoulder curiously. From the bag, she first pulled a large, black garment and turned to present it to Gajeel. "I really hope it fits. It's going to start getting a lot colder so I figured…" She looked up to him, "You might not have something like it."

Perplexed, Gajeel took the item from her and held it out in front of him. _A jacket?_ He thought, examining the old zippered garment in his hands. _Smells musty._

Levy proceeded to also pull out a pair of grey sweatpants, and a red and white scarf. "These you can obviously change into later…It's not much and you may not even want it but–"

"It's fine." Gajeel interrupted. Without really thinking about it, he had started to slip off his own tattered jacket, revealing more chiseled and significantly scarred flesh. Levy abruptly averted her gaze with a pink tinge on her cheeks. The action did not go unnoticed, however Gajeel proceeded to slip on the jacket. It was a little tight across the shoulders, but fit regardless. Much to his surprise. He could have sworn he saw another blush on her cheeks. "Where did you even–"

"Ah ah," Levy stopped him with another raised finger, "It's my turn." A frustrated growl rumbled in Gajeel's chest, but he grunted acknowledgment either way. She smiled, barely able to get her words out fast enough, "Can you change whenever you want?"

The question was obvious; it had been all over her face since she saw him. But he still couldn't help the feeling of surprise, that she even wanted to know and was sticking around to find out. She may have seen his iron visage first, and it was enough of a mystery as to why that didn't deter her, but now she had seen even more of the extent to which he _was not human._ And she just wanted to know more.

"You're still expecting me to run at any second, aren't you?" Levy added, tilting her head. Gajeel was taken by surprise, and worked quickly to hide it.

"You're breakin' your own rules, shrimp. You already asked one question." He chided. Gajeel grabbed a chair and plopped down, straddling it. He crossed his arms across the back of the chair and leaned forward. "I can. Sort of." He finally said. As Levy took a seat herself, her big brown eyes begged him to elaborate.

He felt a twist in his gut, wanting nothing more than to keep her from this information. As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, he greatly enjoyed her company. The blue and yellow woman hadn't left his thoughts for a minute after parting from her last night. Her continued interest and willingness to be around him, as much as he tried to distrust it as some kind of trickery, was not something he wanted to lose. And every bit of him expected her to leave the more he told her about himself.

But then he would look into those honey-brown, _kind_ eyes, and the distrust seemed entirely irrational. And no amount of practiced self-scolding could dismiss the absolute _joy_ he felt when she appeared at the fence today, as promised.

"Sometimes it just happens. At night mostly." Intrigue lit Levy's face, urging him onward. "It's a rhythm, I figure. Back then, _they,"_ He grimaced, "Did most of the work after hours. Made sense, seein' how this," He gestured to himself, "Wasn't strictly legal. So it was a better plan to keep it under wraps." He shrugged. "My body got used to it. If I get really worked up, or need it in a pinch, it's really easy for me to change." Gajeel studied her as he finished, judging her expression.

Levy was nothing but engrossed. All she wanted at this point was to know more about him, but she could tell by the final note in his tone that he was ready to switch the conversation to her.

"So, my turn." He leaned forward again, "Where'd you get this stuff? Little big to be yours." He tugged at the shoulder of the jacket.

Levy laughed a little, a sound that mesmerized the man. "That's not gonna be a satisfying use of your turn. They're just clothes that've been lying around, and they're not used anymore. It was about time they could be used for something." There was something distant in her expression, and a couple glances to the side left Gajeel still feeling unsatisfied. "The scarf is mine, though. It might keep you warm, or maybe you could use it for that," She gestured to his hair, "It keeps getting into your face."

Gajeel frowned, his red gaze moving to the article still sitting on the desk behind her. "There ain't nothin' wrong with my hair…" He mumbled. It wasn't like he had the luxury of doing anything with it.

 _A simple thank you would work…_ Levy thought but chose to let it pass. "Told you it wasn't a thrilling answer." She added, more than willing to go ahead with her own turn, "What's it like? When you change?"

Gajeel flinched. _She really…she just goes right for it. She's not even a little bit afraid._ His thoughts unexpectedly swirled, and he found himself growing more and more uncomfortable. _Why do you want to know? Why do you think you can just pry like that?_ He couldn't stop himself from clenching his teeth, a mask of darkness befalling his face. _I could fucking break you. So easily, I could ruin everything. You're so small and helpless, and alone. You have no power whatsoever here. Why would you think you can sit there across from me and pull at a monster's secrets, when one hand would fit around your neck?!_ His thoughts spiraled, his hands gripped the chair with a hold that made it creak in protest and he shut his eyes tightly, baring his teeth.

"Gajeel?" Her soft, inquisitive voice broke him out, grounding him back to the present. A warm, gentle touch on one of his hands brought his wide-eyed gaze to his hands where she had rested one of hers, realizing then that she had gotten up and approached him. _What is she doing…_ He looked up to her, meeting a worried face. His hands immediately released from the chair and pulled from her touch.

 _Did I cross a line?_ The guilty thought crossed Levy's mind and she took a step away from him to give him his space back. "Do you quit?" She asked, concern heavy in her voice.

Gajeel breathed slow, steadying himself. "No." He said finally. "Sorry." He mumbled, "I doesn't really feel like anything when I change." Trying to talk to keep his mind out of the dark and just move past what he had allowed to happen, "It's much harder to control myself when I change, though." His eyes moved now to the fresh bandage on her forehead. "Which is how ya go that," He pointed with a single finger. "I, I didn't actually want to hurt you…" His tone dropped and he averted his gaze.

Levy smiled knowingly, "I didn't think so." Gajeel's eyes widened a little.

"No?" He asked.

"You keep throwing away your turns, Gajeel." Levy teased, amused by the sudden surprised and frustrated look on his face when he realized that was his question. "No, I don't think you mean to. I think you just wanted to be left alone." She said matter of factly. "You could very easily do more, I'm not naive." _She sees right through me, huh._ He thought, somehow feeling that he was going to have to get used to it. In fact, he felt more like he _could_. "Which leads me to my turn," Levy started, "Why did you, last night when you followed me I mean; why?" She tripped over her words, trying to force them out. Her cheeks warmed despite herself.

"Quit." He nearly spit the word out before he could stop himself. _The hell. That's the cut off for you? Pathetic._ He scolded himself. Warily, he watched her for a reaction.

"Okay." Levy did look disappointed, but that was it. She was about to open her mouth to say something else, when something caught her eye. Casually, a small black animal strolled between them, approaching Gajeel and deftly leaping up to land on his shoulder. Levy blinked, confused that Gajeel barely moved, and actually seemed to welcome the newcomer. As it turned and perched comfortably on his shoulder, she could see clearly what it was. "A cat?" She mused aloud, looking at the black feline, who merely watched her silently. A large scar ran beside his left eye.

Gajeel looked to the cat, humming in acknowledgment. "Panther Lily." He said simply. "Lily for short." The cat chirped, seemingly in response to his name. "He showed up not too long after the breakdown and I haven't been able to get rid of 'im." Gajeel smirked, and the cat whacked the back of the man's head with his tail.

Levy smiled brightly, having forgotten the end to their little game. This was a perfectly adequate consolation. "He's adorable!" She cooed, absolutely beside herself. The man who thought himself a monster, with a small cat as his companion.

Gajeel frowned, "He ain't some cute kitten! This guy's a fighter." He defended, gesturing abruptly with his thumb to the feline.

"Of course of course, sorry." Levy answered, unable to remove her smile. "Can I say hi?" She asked, and Gajeel lifted a brow before looking to the cat.

"If he lets ya." He answered, and Levy approached again, bending a little to extend a hand to the cat for him to sniff. Her eyes were fixed on Lily to watch his response. Gajeel's eyes, however, were stuck on her. This close… _She still smells like lavender._ He couldn't stop his thoughts this time. Not like that first night. He tightened his grip on the chair again, only because his hands itched to reach up and touch her. _I could, so easily._

"I think he likes me!" Her voice snapped him out of his near trance and he looked to his furred companion, who had leaned forward to smell the outstretched hand, and then headbutted it. He lifted his brows in surprise. _Good judge of character, huh Lily?_ He thought, unable to stop the small smile that crept onto his features. She shifted her hand to scratch the top of the cat's head, who leaned into it willingly.

"I'm glad you do have company." Levy added, and Gajeel cocked his head a little. "I can't imagine…being here by yourself so long." Her gaze softened. "Being alone is…no one deserves it. Everyone needs a friend." She looked to him now, smiling softly. He stared at her, struck again by her words. There was more than what she was saying, and he got the feeling she wasn't speaking just for him. But there was also the implication of what she was offering him. _A friend, huh?_ He thought, warmed by the idea.

The moment was interrupted by a loud, brief chime from her bag. Gajeel jumped a little, glaring in the direction of her bag with a look of 'the hell is that?!' Levy pulled her hand back from the cat, and much to his dismay, turned to go over to her belongings.

"Sorry, that's my phone." Without much thought to it, she turned around to pull it out of her bag and see the message from Lucy. " _I should be able to get out of work in about an hour, I'll be over as soon as I get off!"_ Levy frowned then, checking the time to realize that she had been here longer than she thought. Again. He, meanwhile, stared intently at the small, flat device with a screen that lit up brightly, displaying some photo he couldn't make out.

"That what they look like now?" He inquired, a simple question for him but another painful one for Levy. _That's right…he's been out of the loop for six years_.

Levy held up the phone towards him, "Yeah, this is what the iPhones are now." Gajeel stood, cueing Lily to hop off his shoulder, and approached Levy to look at the device.

"They're huge." He remarked, bringing a laugh from Levy.

"Yeah, they've gradually gotten bigger but they can do a lot of stuff now." She added.

Gajeel straightened up and looked to her now, "That message mean ya gotta get goin'?"

Levy looked guilty, but nodded, "Yeah. My friend is going to be coming to my house soon, and I need to be there when she comes over…"

"Ah." He responded simply, doing a piss poor job of hiding his disappointment. _Beg her to stay, why don't ya. "_ I can take you back. In case you run into any vicious rabbits, or something." He teased, bringing an angry pout from Levy.

"I was fine y'know!" She shot back, trying to defend herself while gathering her things. "But…you can if it's not too much trouble." She added finally, trying not to betray her eagerness for the offer.

"I offered. The woods ain't no place for a shrimp like you." Gajeel responded with a smirk, leaning forward to catch her reaction.

"It's Levy!" She shot, angrily yanking her bag onto her back. Ignoring him for the moment, she crouched down to extend a hand to the cat in farewell, who approached willingly to rub against her. "I bet he would know my name." She mumbled.

"He's a cat." Gajeel huffed. "Besides, shrimp is better." He commented, following her out. "Ain't your parents worried about you disappearin' into the wilderness every day?" He asked, and he noticed a visible tension, then slump in the girl's shoulders. He quirked a brow curiously.

"They wouldn't know." She added, and after a moment understanding lit on Gajeel's face as he looked to the jacket he now wore. _Way to go, jackass._ "Besides, I'm old enough to take care of myself!" She added, forcing a cheerful tone as she led the way through the forestry.

It was idle banter, taunts and comments exchanged back and forth between the two for most of the way. But more than that, it was _easy._ And it was comfortable. For Gajeel, it was almost heaven-sent. Even from what he could remember of his life before, there had never been something like this. Both parties found it remarkably simple to speak to one another, and it made the trek go by much faster.

Levy stopped short of the treeline bordering her neighborhood, and out of consideration turned to walk along it, passing behind a few houses along the line to reach hers. Curious with her change in course, Gajeel continued to follow close. Levy stopped just behind the small house she had pointed out the night before, giving Gajeel a closer look at it. Subconsciously, he had memorized the path here.

"This is it," She said finally, turning to face him with a grateful smile. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he interrupted her.

"I wanna see it." He said bluntly, looking from the house to her, waiting for an answer. Levy was taken off guard, eyes wide and flustered. "It's only fair, right?" He added. His mouth beat his thoughts, and he couldn't fathom a logical reason why he would want to go in there, in the open, just to see inside and satisfy some kind of curiosity.

"You, oh, uhm," Her thoughts raced, considering the option, considering just _what_ the option was, and trying to rationalize the best way to handle it. But before she realized what she was saying, "Okay." _What?! Levy!_ Her reason shouted at her, but she had already turned to make sure she had a clear, unseen line to her back door, and headed forward before she could second guess herself more.

Understandably, her pace was quick, and she was relieved that he matched it. _He's risking himself! Why would he, just to see where I live? I mean it_ is _fair like he said, but still!_ Her mind shouted at her, but she was already unlocking her back door and ushering him inside. Checking the outside once more, she closed her door and turned to look at him.

 _What did I just do._ She thought, nervously watching the man as he stood there, looking around. Rooted to the spot, she gripped uselessly at her backpack's straps. _Oh god, he's in my house. Why did I say yes._ She started to panic, watching him expectantly. He, meanwhile, seemed to nod to himself, as though coming to some sort of personal conclusion unknown to Levy.

Without any real sense of propriety, he took it upon himself to wander around and take his own tour of her home. Anxiously, Levy followed him. He stopped at one of the many bookcases, eyes scanning along the titles, before looking around the area to count two more cases. He seemed more than methodical, looking around the home, and Levy couldn't help feeling that he was looking for something specific.

 _You can tell a lot about someone from their place._ He thought to himself, engrossing himself in his own devices. _And so far all I can tell is that she reads. A lot. Go figure._ He looked around the living room, noting the one hallway to a door that was closed, and then an opposite hallway to an open door. _And there's the empty rooms._ He turned heading towards the hall with open door. Gajeel was halfway into the hallway before Levy caught up, finally finding her voice.

"Wait! That's my–" There was the sudden sound of keys in the front door that cut her off, followed by a click, and then a voice that filled the quiet house and turned both of them still as stone as Levy remembered the text message she got not long ago, cursing herself for being so distracted.

"Levy~! I found the cat ears, _and_ a tail!"


	6. Chapter 6

Red eyes shot down to her accusingly first, his entire body rigid. He then looked past her in what had evolved into feral rage, both of his hands balling into tight fists at his sides as his entire body prickled. She could swear that a gray, iron-hued pigment started to spread across his face as he bared his fangs in a silent snarl.

In a panic, she stopped him suddenly with two tiny palms planted against his back, pushing him with everything she had into her bedroom. _Oh my god this is so not oka_ y.

"Just a second, Lu! I'm changing, you can wait in the kitchen for a minute," she called out, shoving him through her doorway shortly before she heard the blonde walk into the living room.

"Ooohkay, you know we've changed in front of each other before, right?" Lucy called back. Gajeel shot Levy another look, but she refused to meet his stare.

"What the hell're you doing?" He snarled at her under his breath. "And who the hell is that, just helping themselves inside? And what the hell is she bringing for you?"

"Trying to keep you from getting caught!" She whispered back, "What does it look like!" She closed her door behind her as quietly as she could and looked to her options. Right now she had only one clear one. "And that's Lucy. Best friend, has a key, it's Halloween, I'm going as a cat." She mumbled quickly, abashed. Gajeel blinked, forgetting for just a split moment what was happening.

As her eyes focused on the window, the ONLY route of escape, Gajeel seemed to catch up and grumble again, shifting to intercept her line of sight. "Does it look like I'm going to fit through _that_?" He hissed, tone as hushed as he could make it.

"Levy! What is taking you so long?" She could hear her friend call, sounding closer than the kitchen.

 _What do I do! If I put him in the closet she'll find him, that's the first place she'll go. If I put him in the bathroom she'll find him, he won't fit under the bed and barely out the window_. The panic on Levy's face as she looked up to Gajeel did nothing to ease his own.

"It looks like you don't have a choice." Levy mumbled, rushing to her window to force it open as wide as she could. Frantically, she gestured for him to get out.

He stood there for a second, staring at her incredulously. But with no other option, Gajeel pushed himself through head first, feeling the window pane struggle against his shoulders. It caught, and he growled deeply, partially cursing the woman for being so open with her home, and entirely himself for being the IDIOT that wanted to go inside. _What the hell was I thinking?_ He berated himself.

Feeling that he was making no progress, he sharply recoiled from the window and gestured to it with both hands. 'I told you so' was written all over his face. Which then quickly gave way to the frantic expression akin to a trapped animal when he realized his one real escape was null. His chest heaved, his eyes darted from the bedroom door to the unusable window, then to the woman in front of him. He took a sharp step backwards. He was staring discovery in the face and for him there was not a single thing more terrifying. _If that girl sees me she's gonna run screaming like before. She's gonna announce it to the whole neighborhood and they're all going to see me and know who I am and everything I've tried to keep hidden all this time is going to be right in the open they're going to turn me into that_ _ **animal**_ _all over again_ **.** His eyes darkened as he regarded the tiny blunette. _**She**_ _trapped me here, she fucking knew and she trapped me in this house. An–_

Gajeel's eyes went wide as warm hands, tiny tiny hands, placed themselves on either side of his face. Instinctively, he leaned forward into the touch, and every angry, terrifying voice in his head, every shred of doubt disappeared in an instant. Looking down, his eyes met with warm brown and a level of concern that was all but unknown to him. She was on the very tips of her toes trying to reach him, stretching her arms just to hold his face and bring him back from the dark. His entire body relaxed and his eyes closed slowly. A deep breath filled his chest, and on the exhale he opened his eyes again, pleading with his only savior at this moment. _Please, please help me._

It was loud and clear to Levy. "Breathe. It's okay." She said, her voice so soft and gentle that he couldn't fathom it being directed to him. The calm that washed over him with that voice left him feeling like he could listen to it every day for the rest of his life. "Trust me?" She whispered, knitting her brows together.

It was a question he couldn't imagine answering. That reflexive, self-preserving voice cried 'no,' over and over. 'You can't!' it said, 'Never!' But beyond all the noise, he opened his mouth and…

"Yes."

It slipped out so easily, confidently, and for once he wasn't beating himself for saying it. Because, _yes_ , he trusted her. In all of her blue and yellow kindness, in every one of her visits and her fearlessness in the face of what he was, he knew now that he trusted her.

The woman smiled gently, and quickly released his face. Gajeel found himself ready to protest the lack of contact, but he could already see the gears in the blunette's head turning, and he wasn't about to interrupt her.

Levy bounced a bit on her feet, eyes darting, before throwing together another half-assed plan. "I'm gonna get her into the kitchen. When she's not looking, I need you to run across the living room to the other hall. The Master bedroom has a set of sliding doors that lead out to the back. PLEASE don't touch anything." She whispered quickly, and didn't wait for his approval before she flitted out of the room, swinging her door partially shut behind her and leaving the man alone with his disbelief.

And not a minute too soon, because she found herself face to face with her eager, blonde friend. "Lucy!" She all but shouted, taking Lucy off guard. "Before we go, I need you to help me with something."

"Okay?" Lucy answered as Levy all but pushed her into the kitchen. "Why are you acting so weird?"

"I have a headache." Levy quipped, "And I ran out of aspirin and can't reach the top of the drug cabinet in the kitchen for more." She tacked on, almost impressed at her story-weaving were it not for the fact she was trying to sneak a man out of her house.

Her eyes went to Levy's hairline, "Oh, your head." Lucy replied, "You can't drink if you take any." She advised.

"I shouldn't anyway, knowing the boys the cops will probably show." Levy answered, pushing Lucy to the cabinet and trying to angle her as subtly as she could with her back to the living room.

"Yeah yeah. How do you function being this short?" Lucy asked, "Here, wear the ears for a second." Without waiting for an okay from Levy, she planted the black, furry headband on the blunette and turned, stepping on tip toe to look as best she could on the top shelf. "Where is it?"

Levy, meanwhile, glanced into the living room, seeing Gajeel poke his head around the corner and look directly at her, the angry scowl etched on his face. It, however, faltered when he saw the ridiculous ears that the girl now sported. "It's up there just look close." Levy answered while maintaining eye contact with Gajeel. She impatiently cocked her head for him to 'move it!' with a very unamused frown on her face. Levy could see the laughter pricking at his eyes, wanting to say ANYTHING about her appearance.

Regardless, he needed no second command and moved across the room surprisingly quietly to disappear into the other hall. Instant relief flooded her, and she looked back to Lucy.

"Oh wait, here it is." Levy said suddenly, pulling a bottle off the bottom shelf. "I'll wait to take it, just in case. Sorry I must've missed it."

Lucy dropped down, frowning a bit. "Dolt." She teased, "That was pointless."

 _The opposite_ , thought Levy. "Sorry sorry, let's just get ready. You can raid my closet and do my face paint, I know you're dying to."

Seemingly forgetting all about everything that had just happened, Lucy beamed brightly. "Yes!"

* * *

It took everything in him not to burst out laughing at the sight of her, standing there panicked as could be in a pair of cat ears. It almost alleviated the severity of his situation, and he was grateful for the shred of humor.

Still, Gajeel knew he couldn't linger, but once safely in the unused room, he couldn't help leaning back against the closed door, trying desperately to calm his breaths. His heart was in his ears, and he was trying _so hard_ not to change right then and there. _Not here. Not in her house. I can't trust myself like that here.._.

His exit was clear, the evening light filtering through, but he didn't want to rush out just yet. In an effort to distract himself enough to come down from an emotional ten, he took a moment to look around the room.

The room was clean, and it smelled as musty as the jacket initially had. But it did not look entirely unlived in. The closet was full of clothes still, and pictures hung on the walls. He stopped to look at a collection of four different photos hanging by one another.

Two pictures, one staged and one looking like it was at a birthday party, showed two adults. _Parents?_ They both looked like kind people, gentle faces. The man was surprisingly larger than the woman, and he could see where the girl got her height. As well as her blue hair. In the first two photos, Levy barely looked like she was older than five, her face lit with a child's joy and her blue hair even wilder than it was now.

In the next two photos she looked several years older the the others, with the fourth looking like it was the most recent of the two: A teenage Levy and the other blue-haired woman had their faces pressed together to fit in the picture they seemed to take themselves. In both these, it was just the adult woman with Levy, and no sign of anyone else. While looking around the house earlier, he had noted several framed pictures of Levy with multiple people. Mostly a girl with long blonde hair.

Gajeel looked around the room one more time, hearing the female voices outside move to the opposite side of the house. He couldn't help but feel entirely dissatisfied with the manner of their 'farewell' this time around, but his priorities were sorted. He went to the doors, flipping them unlocked and sliding them open as quietly as he could. Closing them in the same manner behind him, he gave the back yard and the tree line a quick sweep with his eyes, before bolting into the forestry and disappearing.

* * *

"Lucy, if this tail catches fire I swear."

"Would you stop worrying about that?" Lucy shot back, bouncing against her friend on the sidewalk. "We look adorable." She smiled brightly, poking at a pair of mouse ears on her head.

Levy glanced from her friend to herself, taking in the black attire, accentuated by the ears and a long, curled tail that fit at her waist. _Just put on a smile and try to have fun_. She told herself, trying to pull her thoughts from _the incident_.

Levy immediately pushed those thoughts as far as she could for now as they came up on Natsu's home, already crawling with costumed people and loud music. Levy could see the bright orange glow of a flame in the back, and she laughed at herself a little. "I bet he couldn't wait to get that started. "

Lucy laughed in return, "You know him." The two of them walked along the outside of the home and headed straight for the back yard. The sight they found struck Levy as nothing but typical, as she threw a knowing look to Lucy, who conspicuously avoided it. Natsu, with red scales painted in various spots across his body and some makeshift horns on his head, was zealously tossing branches into the fire pit and reveling in each burst of cinders and smoke.

"YOURE GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN!" A black-haired boy, wearing nothing but swim trunks and a loose fitting swim cap shouted frantically. _How predictable._ Levy laughed at his characteristically _minimal_ attire.

Natsu paid his roommate no mind at all, throwing his arms up victoriously. "FIRE CANNOT KILL A DRAGON, GRAY!" He shouted back. Which only incensed Gray further, and the bickering continued.

"That's your crush." Levy pointed out flatly with a single finger pointed in his direction, earning a shove from Lucy. "He is so drunk already."

"You want something to drink or not?" The blonde asked, deflecting the conversation elsewhere.

Levy sighed in defeat, having not taken anything for her fictitious headache. "Sure, surprise me. I'll supervise." She gestured her head at the boys around the fire, laughing lightly. Lucy smiled and whirled away, her tail trailing behind her.

"Levyyyy!" Natsu's voice snatched her attention as the painted, excited boy bounced over to her. "Back from the dead!" He added, oblivious to the nervous tension that took over the small girl's frame. "How's your head?" He asked, rather than shouted at her. Which she appreciated, given that she wanted as little attention as possible drawn to it.

The blunette smiled appreciatively, "It's fine, barely feel it anymore."

"Great! Then it's time to party!" And he was shouting again, just as Lucy returned with two red cups.

"Rum n coke. I poured light for you." Lucy offered a knowing smile, fully aware of Levy's profound lack of tolerance. A grateful nod answered her, and Levy took her cup.

It did feel nice to be back among her friends, even if she typically took a quieter, observing role for the night(normally Levy was just about the happiest drunk you could imagine). Still, having the ease of normal interaction, and being able to be distracted from her thoughts was pleasant. Having a certain red-eyed individual swirling in her brain had become moderately consuming, and she wanted to stop fretting over the extremely close call they had this evening. The alcohol, light though it was, certainly helped with every aspect of this matter. The light buzz was nothing to complain about.

The night proceeded as she expected. Gray and Natsu were wrestling, albeit later in the evening than she expected, and both Lucy and Gray's admirer, Juvia, spectated rather intently. Levy couldn't help but laugh to herself, and couldn't decide what was more fun to watch: the boys' antics or the girls' faces.

Amazingly, no one caught on fire and somehow they had managed to avoid angering the neighbors enough to have the police called. The night progressed, pieces of costumes and trash were left behind as more and more people called it a night and the music became a background hum. Levy had settled in a fold out chair by the dimmer fire, sipping on her third beverage of the night, eyes half-lidded and staring into the flames.

Lucy, far more buzzed than she, plopped down on the seat beside her. "I told you~" She drawled, straightening her ears. Or at least trying to.

"Yes, you were right Lucy." Levy answered complacently. "No one caught on fire. Not even Natsu." A pleased smile crossed her friend's flushed face. "It was nice to see everyone like this again." She added, smiling to her friend. Lucy nodded, agreeing with her, before a thoughtfulness slipped onto her features. Levy tilted her head curiously, beckoning for her friend to divulge.

"You're doing okay, right Levy?" She asked, trying to hush her tone. Lucy's eyes searched hers a moment, before she looked away. "I know…what we said. But…I can't really get rid of it…" The alcohol had evidently dulled her inhibitions in bringing up the topic they had previously agreed to not revisit.

Regardless, the look on her friend's face struck Levy with heavy guilt. Immediately her thoughts returned to the person she had been trying to keep out of her mind. Here was her best friend, looking like she was still battling the trauma of that night, and Levy had invited the very person responsible into her home mere hours ago. They were within the same walls together. And for a terrifying moment Levy imagined what would have happened if Lucy discovered him, and recognized who he really was…

The blunette's eyes fell to her lap, and her friend misinterpreted the gesture. "You can't either, huh? I mean…what we saw was…"

"Hush," Levy cut her off when someone approached. Seeing that it was only Natsu, she relaxed. "It was, Lucy. And I know it was bad but, don't you think it's weird that he didn't hurt us?" She tried to push her friend's thoughts in a different direction.

Natsu plopped into the ground next to them, face paint smudged hilariously. A sudden seriousness pervaded his similarly flushed face when he realized what they were talking about. "You can't get over it either, Lucy?" He mumbled, rocking a little from side to side as he rested his hands on his knees. "I've been fired up about it since. Can't stop thinkin' about it."

The blonde hummed and nodded her head, then looked back to Levy. "It tried. That thing came for us like a bat out of hell. It tried to kill us. And it's still out there." She shifted uneasily, glancing into the darkness beyond the backyard.

Levy bit her lip, wanting to say so much. She wanted to tell them how wrong they were, how much they didn't understand. That he was a person, not an 'it.' He was a person and he had a cat and he was more than a beast in the dark. And he was just as afraid of them as they were of him.

She couldn't say any of that, not a word of it. Not without betraying the trust of a friend. _But I'm not doing any better by hiding this from them either._ Her stomach twisted. "But Lucy, don't you think he _could_ have killed us, killed _me_ if he really wanted? I was right there outside, for hours." It was the best defense she could offer without giving too much.

Lucy seemed to think for a minute, and Natsu just tried to stay upright. "You got real lucky." He mused. "We thought we lost you."

"Maybe, maybe it wasn't luck. I don't know. I think there's more to it." Levy continued, trying with everything in her buzzed capabilities to keep herself even-toned. "We were the ones that went there. He didn't hunt us down, we hunted him down, really."

Lucy furrowed her brow at her friend, and with this Levy realized she had reached as far as she could go and was crossing into suspicion. "You're too nice." She finally said, the alcohol clearly stunting how much she could have said. The blunette was more than thankful for this fact.

"I just think we should still keep it to ourselves. It could cause way more trouble if we say anything. To anyone." Levy's eyes flicked to Natsu, their resident big mouth.

He grimaced, looking wholly offended. "Me? I can keep a secret!" He protested, and Levy had to hush him again.

"You can't hold water and you know it." Lucy mumbled, crossing her arms. "I'm amazed Gray doesn't know yet."

Natsu pouted, crossing his arms and looking off to the side with puffed cheeks. "You've got no faith in me." A drunken mumble that thankfully brought a needed smile to the girls' faces.

"You're probably right, Levy." Lucy said, ignoring the displeased boy at their feet. "Let's let it go."

"Well, good thing Halloween is just about over. We can put the spooky behind us." Levy offered an amused smile, trying to direct her tipsy friend in a better direction. The small laugh was a success. "Speaking of…we should really be going. It's late."

Lucy leaned over, plopping her head on Levy's shoulder and sighed. "Okayy~." She replied, "I might need help." Natsu perked up.

"I can walk you home." He offered. Levy glanced to Lucy, wondering how thankful she was for the already flushed cheeks of hers. She smiled warmly, happy for her friend.

"I'm a lot better off than she is. I can get home fine." Levy added quickly, wanting to give her friend the moment. She could see the protest start to rise in Natsu, when she raised a hand, "I live a handful of houses down, literally. Lucy lives the other way. Go, walk home drunkles here." Levy picked herself up, bobbing her head in Lucy's direction.

Lucy gave Levy another knowing look, and for once looked appreciative of Levy's little hints and teasing. The blunette extended a hand to help her friend to her feet, before turning her over to Natsu. There was a quick, sharp look of protectiveness that flashed across her face as a warning to the dragon-boy, and his wide 'wait no, I would never!' eyes gave her all the answer she needed before waving to them both and making her exit with a smile.

Only now, away from the bonfire, did she realize how chilled the air had become. A small shiver spurred her to quicken her pace back home. _It feels like it's going to snow soon._ She thought, looking upwards and catching sight of her breath in the night air.

 _I hope he's warm enough._ The thought came out of nowhere, but at this point it didn't surprise her. _It's not like it's his first winter…_ A deep frown fell onto her face, recalling his attire _before_ she brought anything for him. Maybe it was the alcohol, but her eyes burned a little with tears. He had more now than he had in the past, but still… _still._

Levy fumbled with her keys are her front door and all but rushed inside. _Cold!_ She closed the door quickly behind her, incredibly relieved to find herself in the warmer and well-lit room. The blunette pulled off the cat ears, more than relieved to be rid of them, and dropped them and her keys on the small table by her doorway.

As she lifted her watery eyes to the room in front of her, Levy recoiled backwards and her back impacted the door with a hard thud. She strangled a cry in her throat when recognition of the metallic person in her living room caught up with her.

"Gajeel?!" She called out to the man, whose hands were shoved in the pockets of the pants she had given him. A shameful gaze was fixed on the floor beside him and he shifted uncomfortably on his feet. His hair was somehow even more of a mess than before, and there was an emotion on his face she had a hard time reading. "Gajeel, what are you–" An anxious gaze rose to meet hers that halted the words in her throat and brought a tightness in her chest.

"Can I…can I stay here?"


	7. Chapter 7

**_A/N:_ Did someone say angst? Cause I do angst. Also references. There are several songs I had playing while writing this, among them: "301210″ – Antonymes, "Futile Devices" – Sufjan Stevens, and basically all of Bon Iver. The poems used, as mentioned in the story, are Robert Frost's.**

* * *

 _Calm down…calm down._ The man paced noisily back and forth in the basement, both hands grasping the back of his neck. His stomach was twisting and flipping over backwards with unbearable anxiety, and his thoughts hadn't stopped storming since he got back to this godforsaken place. Suffering such a close call, regardless of the revelations he had come to in Levy's presence, had pushed him into a very dark place that he was trying desperately to crawl out from.

It wasn't the first time something like this had happened to bring out this reaction, but it was certainly the closest call he'd had yet. That was the first time he had almost been discovered so close to town, and been nigh powerless to escape the corner he had been backed into. It opened the floodgates to the flashbacks that wracked his body with phantom pains.

 _Dose him again._

 _Measure the response time._

 _What's the threshold? Good, go past it._

 _He's not dead yet?_

 _Record all of it, I want full conversion this time._

 _Dose him again._

 _How soon can we begin field trials?_

 _He's still fighting it?_

 _Leave him in the chamber, we'll stamp out that indignation soon enough._

 _Restrain him! I'll not lose all this work! We must come back!_

Gajeel slammed an iron fist with immeasurable force into the wall next to him, creating a large crater. A snarl ripped from his chest as grey scales appeared on his arms, traveling up to his shoulders, spreading across his back, and finally reaching his face. Red eyes glowed wildly in the darkness, and in utter frustration he flung an arm to knock a piece of machinery across the room like a toy. "Damn it!" He swung a kick next, impacting something else that he didn't care to identify. "Damn it all!"

He doubled over, hands now moving to his skull and tangling in his hair, desperate to hold onto anything. _I can't breathe_. Another growl rumbled in his throat and he raised himself again, forcing himself to walk forward. _I need air. I can't be here. I need air._ Desperately, the iron dragon ascended the stairs and forced himself across the large lobby towards the exit. The cold breeze already wafting in burned his throat as he inhaled greedily, dying for any sort of relief.

Gajeel stopped, a red and white object catching his eye. On the desk, where it had been left not long ago, was the red and white chevron scarf that a certain blunette had brought for him. Panting at this point, he stumbled over to the article and picked it up to bring it straight to his face. Another sharp inhale, and he felt a shred of relief.

He thought then to the blue-haired woman and closed his eyes, trying his best to picture her as clearly as possible. He tried to remember her voice, and remember the warmth of her hands, to remember her kind eyes and the mirth in her smiles. He tried everything he could to draw on that tiny creature to ease even a fraction of his agony.

The girl had started to materialize in his mind, but was dashed away just as quickly by the image of another man. The sinister, mustached smile sent chills through his body as a strangled cry fell from his lips and his hands formed fists in the scarf. _You think you deserve to cling to her? Being what you are?_ He could imagine that man saying it, _spitting_ it at him.

 _To hell with what I fucking deserve._ A final thought rang through, and he was out of the building before he had the time to convince himself otherwise.

* * *

Levy stood there for a moment, still trying to gather herself with the fact that he was standing there in front of her. This was partially her fault, letting him come inside in the first place and showing him where she lived. But she still didn't quite expect him to just let himself inside. His demeanor, however, told her this wasn't some curious check-in. Her eyes wandered then to the scarf he clutched in one metal fist and she tilted her head curiously.

"Just…for the night." He added to try and eke and answer out of her. It almost sounded like he was out of breath, and there was a profound weakness in his voice. "I can't…I can't be there, tonight." His eyes pleaded, _begged_ for her to say anything at all. He wasn't saying it, but he was here because he needed her. More than anything else on this earth, he needed the blue-haired girl to just let him be near her. Because if Gajeel was certain of one thing, it was that she made everything else go away. She quieted the self-loathing, the flashbacks, and everything that haunted him in the dark. He had gotten his clearest taste of that earlier, and it was the most profound thing to happen him yet in his miserable life.

Still, Levy did not respond, and her persistent stare at the iron dragon in her living room didn't waver. _He does look like a dragon, like this._ In the lit room, every scale and every detail to his altered form was clearer to her than it had been before, right down to the dangerous claws he now bore. He looked so much like himself, but not, and the intense stare that she found herself under was entirely unnerving.

There was finally a dramatic roll of his shoulders and a grimace spread onto his face as he leaned backwards. "Tch!" He huffed, spinning on his heel to leave. The refusal seemed perfectly clear, and his stomach twisted with a wave of nausea. "Forget it." _What was I thinking, that she was just going to–_

"Wait!" Levy finally cried, rushing forward to grab him by the wrist, his scaled skin firm and cold in her grasp. Gajeel turned quickly to look down at her, then to her hand that barely made it around his wrist. "I'm sorry. I'm uhm…" She released him and rubbed the back of her neck, "I drank a little tonight. And I wasn't expecting…" She trailed off, looking up to him now. He was watching her intently, hanging on her every word.

 _Ah, so that's what that is. She smells like smoke and rum._

"Yes. Stay here. The couch is open…" There was a small uneasiness in her voice, a nervous flush on her face that Gajeel picked up on.

"Relax, shrimp." It was halfhearted, gentle even. "I may look like this but I ain't an animal. I wont go anywhere but there." He angled his head at the furniture.

Levy smiled genuinely at him, but her tongue burned with the questions she wanted to ask. The initial discomfort that was seeping from him moments earlier had started to wane, but there still was the matter of why he was back here in the first place. Especially after the close call with Lucy. She remembered that he had said he changed often at night out of habit, but she couldn't help feeling that there was another reason this time.

Either way, her curiosity was not the most important factor here. "Just a second." She went back into her bedroom and rummaged in her closet for a moment before she pulled out a large, pale blue comforter and grabbed a pillow from her bed. She hugged the blanket and pillow to her as she returned to the living room and handed it over to him. "I hope this is okay."

The smell of lavender and a sense of calm flooded his senses. Gajeel nodded his head and hummed, glancing at the couch. It wasn't huge, but it would do. "Thanks, black cat." He forced a fanged smirk, trying to make her feel a little less uncomfortable. The blush that flared up on her face when she remembered her attire was satisfying in more ways than one. "Gihe!"

Levy had to admit she was pleased to see him smile and laugh a little, but the embarrassment spurred her to change the subject and do anything she could to detract from it. "Can I, uh, can I get you anything?" She offered, unsure of what else to say. _Of course this happens when I'm dressed like a fool._

Gajeel seemed to mull the question over as he took a seat, setting the bedding next to him. His eyes studied her as he leaned forward with his hands on his knees. "Could you just talk? About anythin.'" He finally said, averting his eyes again as his lack of confidence constricted his chest. _You're pathetic. Could you look like any more of a fool in front of her?_

Levy blinked in confusion for a moment, but the unease in the room was more than evident despite both their efforts. There was something in his face that was similar to how he had looked earlier today, and a level of understanding finally settled in her. Right now, Levy didn't need answers. Because he needed her.

Wordlessly, Levy turned and walked over to one of her many book cases. Brown eyes sifted over the titles, before she settled on a thin book. As she pulled it out, it revealed a well-worn cover, and darkened pages that told of its age and use. She next went by the couch, flipped on the small lamp at the end table, and went to turn off the main light, leaving them both in a softer glow. She settled finally on the floor near the couch, leaning her back on an ottoman.

His red eyes never left her as she went about her devices, and he tried to figure out what she was up to. Watching her, with whiskers still painted on her face and a tail at her waist, was a good start to easing his nerves.

Levy crossed her legs, leaned back, and opened the book to thumb through the pages. A small hum rose in her, before she settled on a page.

"I have been one acquainted with the night.  
I have walked out in rain – and back in rain.  
I have out-walked the furthest city light.

I have looked down the saddest city lane.  
I have passed by the watchman on his beat  
And dropped my eyes, unwilling to explain."

Gajeel raised his brows and tilted his head, not just at the fact that she had started to read to him(because really, that wasn't surprising), but at the overwhelming softness in her voice. The small smile that played at her face while she read filled him with warmth, and he felt the tension slowly leave his body as he leaned back into the soft couch while she continued.

"I have stood still and stopped the sound of feet  
When far away an interrupted cry  
Came over houses from another street,

But not to call me back or say good-bye;  
And further still at an unearthly height,  
A luminary clock against the sky

Proclaimed the time was neither wrong nor right.  
I have been one acquainted with the night."

As Levy concluded, she looked up to Gajeel to check his reaction. His head was tilted, eyes half-lidded and fixed on her, and he was completely reclined into the furniture. "What is that?" He asked quietly.

Levy smiled a bit, noticing the drastic change in his disposition. "Robert Frost." Gajeel furrowed his brow and cocked his head a little, bringing a giggle from Levy. "He's a writer. A poet actually." She explained. "His poems have always seemed very calming, I thought they might be good now." Another smile, and Gajeel relaxed even further. "I don't know…" Levy began, slowly choosing her words, "I may not know what was done to you, or what happened to you tonight but…I want to help you." She paused again, making sure her words could linger, "Thank you. For letting me."

 _I didn't really have to say much, did I? She already knew._ He thought, a sigh escaping him. The iron dragon leaned over, settling onto his side on the couch and propping his head up on his palm. "Could ya read another?" He asked softly. A pleased smile spread on her face and she nodded, flipping through the pages with purpose. She knew exactly which piece to read next.

"Whose woods these are I think I know.  
His house is in the village, though;  
He will not see me stopping here  
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer  
To stop without a farmhouse near  
Between the woods and frozen lake  
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake  
To ask if there is some mistake.  
The only other sound's the sweep  
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,  
But I have promises to keep,  
And miles to go before I sleep,  
And miles to go before I sleep."

As Levy looked up to him, her eyes widened a little. Instead of iron, normal tanned skin glowed faintly in the lamplight. He had closed his eyes, and his chest rose and fell slowly, steadily. The blunette smiled and closed the little anthology, unsure if she had seen him this relaxed since she had known him. _He must have been exhausted._

She thought back to their first meeting, what he had been like then, and compared it to the slumbering figure on her couch. _He's changed so much._ Levy had earned his trust, and clearly, she trusted him as well. This was as open as she could get, allowing him to stay like this. Gajeel had presented himself to her, utterly vulnerable, and placed his trust in her. There was absolutely no way she couldn't do the same.

Everything in her compelled her to trust him, and as silence engulfed them, she couldn't help feeling safe with him there. The house wasn't so big, and the quiet wasn't so overbearing. There was still so much she didn't know, but so much had happened in the span of a few days. And rough as he was, as loud and brash, everything that he did reaffirmed to her that she was _safe_ with him.

Levy felt her own eyes grow heavy, the length of the day and the alcohol slowly catching up to her. _I'll just close them for a second…before I go change…_

* * *

The early morning light was a faint, grey hue in the apartment when he opened his eyes. Muffled birdsong slowly drifted to his ears, and he blinked the grogginess from his vision. _Warm…_ He thought pleasantly, realizing he had tangled himself in the large comforter. The blanket was warm, the couch was soft, and as unknown as this kind of comfort was to him, he didn't dare question it. Because it felt _heavenly_.

There was an ease in his chest as he buried his face into the pillow a little and inhaled. Gajeel allowed the scent to overpower his senses, engulfing himself in it until he heard something shift in the room. Quickly he tensed and looked to the source, and immediately relaxed when he saw the tiny figure curled there on the floor, the book still in her hands. _Did she….sleep there all night?_ He instantly found himself feeling guilty that he'd had such a pleasant sleep, and there she was on the floor.

That guilt only intensified when he saw her tiny frame shake with a little shiver. _It's cold in here._ A deep frown set on his face and he got up immediately, trying to be as quiet as he could. The girl did not react, and he looked to the hall with the open door. Without another thought, he carefully, and as gently as he was able, pulled the book from her tiny hands and scooped her up into his arms.

Levy shifted, humming a little, but did not wake. Gajeel stood there and held his breath, as still as possible, and waited. She did not move again, but he could not help staring at her a little longer, smirking at the now smudged black makeup on her face. But more than that, she was the absolute definition of peace and as much as he wanted to deny it, she felt right in his arms. He tightened his grip slightly, a sudden compulsion to keep her close striking him now. _She's so small._ It wasn't as though he was just realizing the fact, it was something he relished teasing her about since they met. But still, she was so small, and her home was so empty, and the world was so big.

He tried to imagine a world in which he could do this whenever he wanted. A world in which he wasn't a monster in a laboratory and the secret she kept hidden. A world where he was just a man, and she was just this tiny woman that somehow found ways to save him a little more each day he knew her. A world where he could just be in the open with her and be close to her.

But that was not his world, and those were not his circumstances. Gajeel lowered his head and buried his nose into her hair. She still smelled like wood smoke, but her normal scent was still there. Despite himself, he pressed his lips to the top of her head gingerly. He tried, futilely to remain in that moment, but she shifted again in his arms.

"Gajeel…" It was the tiniest, minuscule whisper, but he did not miss it. A chill shot through him as he stared wide-eyed down at her, and as much as he didn't want to, he felt it was now urgent to get away from her. Because he was feeling things he did not know how to feel, and he couldn't process them with her this close to him.

Carefully, he carried her into her room, and shifted her slightly to hold her with one arm while his free hand pulled open her covers. He set her down slowly, and she instinctively buried herself into her pillows, nestling in like the animal she was dressed as. _You're killin' me, shrimp._ Gajeel pulled the covers over her, and quickly backed away from the bed.

The morning light was growing in the cold, quiet world outside, and he needed to be making his exit. Everything in him now screamed at him to stay, to never leave her. But he couldn't escape what he was, and he knew that he needed to disappear from this world of hers before anyone else around her awakened.

* * *

When Levy woke up not an hour later, it took a moment for the sleep to clear from her thoughts and remember the night before. Quickly her head shot up and she looked about her quiet room, before her gaze landed on her clock: 7:45. _When did I come to bed?_ She thought glancing down at the black clothes she was still wearing. _Okay, so I didn't change._ Levy wiped her face, and frowned at the black makeup on her fingertips. _And I still need to wash my face._

Finally, her thoughts came back around to Gajeel. _Did he bring me here?_ The warmth in her face and the flutter in her chest surprised her. Levy quietly slipped out of bed, shuddering at the cold hardwood on her bare feet. _It's definitely going to snow soon, it's freezing!_ She thought, tiptoeing into the living room. What she found, however, was an empty couch with a balled up comforter on it. On the cushion, was the little anthology she had read from.

Levy found herself feeling disappointed before she could really understand why. There was definitely a part of her that wished he would still be there, but also a part that was happy he wasn't. Not just because she had to return to work today, but because something changed yesterday. Words were futile devices to define it, but there was definitely a tangible shift between them. Levy could barely wrap her mind around so much happening in one day, and struggled even more to make sense of it.

His heartbreaking desperation when he came to her last night stuck clear as day in her thoughts. The way that he looked at her was the way someone looked at their saving grace. _Is that how he feels about me?_ She thought, holding a hand to her chest and looking out the windows into her back yard.

An exasperated sigh fell from her, and Levy turned to head back into her bedroom. _I can't stay on this all day. And I_ _ **have**_ _to get out of these clothes._ There were few things a hot shower couldn't fix, and the beginning of her work week with the promise of keeping her occupied was a welcome change. Still, getting the red-eyed man out of her thoughts would be no easy task.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: This is a short one, sorry all!**

* * *

"Thank you! Come back soon." Levy flashed a bright, customer service smile at the patron was headed out the door with their new books. The jingle of the door closing finalized their exit, and she set about closing up the store for the day. It had been four days since Halloween, and additionally four days since she had actually seen her dragon.

The first day after Halloween was difficult. She had been so spaced that multiple times customers had to try more than once to get her attention, and she hardly got anything done. When she got home that evening she was exhausted, and her thoughts kept her awake for most of the night.

The following days got easier only in the aspect of being able to keep herself occupied. Her efforts to decipher how she felt, however, had made no progress. Consequently, her productivity after that first day was better than it had ever been, and with her short stint off work she had been more than willing to pick up shifts for the people that had to cover her. After all, it was only fair, and it also kept her here from open to close. Which wasn't awful; the constant activity and steady flow of tasks did wonders to keep her thoughts on one track for the majority of the day. Still, when she wasn't working, she expected him to show up any minute. With no luck.

Levy chalked it up to the snow flurries that had started on the 2nd, slowly dusting their surroundings with a soft white. It was certainly what kept her from going back herself; the small blunette was not really fit to be trekking through the woods in the snow by herself. There was also the fact she wasn't home for most of the day that contributed as well; there wasn't any real time for her to go.

Lucy had been over a couple other nights to watch movies and drink hot cocoa, a little tradition of theirs every time the weather turned. Levy wasn't a huge fan of the cold, but Crop-Top-Lucy was even less so. The whole tradition involved Lucy cocooned in a blanket with an angry puff to her cheeks. It was how she coped. The thought made Levy laugh to herself, wondering every year how Lucy survived the winters when 90% of her attire were shorts, skirts, bandeaus, and crop tops. The girl fed on sunlight and warmth.

For Levy, however, it was near torture trying to act normally. Her best friend was the one that she was supposed to be venting to about silly feelings stuff. Lucy ate that up, especially if it involved boys. And _especially_ if it involved boys that Levy might be confused about. _But what am I supposed to say? 'Hey remember that scary guy in the dark that made you pee your pants? Yeah I think he might like me and I don't know how I feel about him. Just ignore the first part.'_ She grimaced and threw her head back in defeat. _Why is this so_ _ **complicated!**_ Why couldn't it just be easy?

The pervasive thought that he might try to come when she wasn't there wouldn't leave her. Yesterday morning, Levy took the time to pull out a long coat from the master closet and a thick scarf, setting it out on the bed. She took a sheet of paper and, wanting to be vague _just in case_ , only wrote "keep warm," and left the sliding doors unlocked. When she returned last night, the clothes and the note were gone. And something striking was in its place.

A worn, damaged notebook. The black, partially detached cover had no identifiers. Inside, pages were torn or burnt, and some were ripped out entirely. But there were several pages that were preserved clearly, and she had spent nearly the entire night poring through it, trying to make sense of it. And understand why he left it for her. In a way it seemed fitting, communication wasn't necessarily his strong suit. It warmed her that he wanted her to have it, that it was his way of opening who he was in the safest way possible. It likely played a part in his continued absence.

What she had begun to uncover inside kept the notebook nearly attached at her hip; both from wanting every second to interpret what was inside, but also for fear of _anyone_ else seeing it. More than that, it pained her terribly to know what she did now; to have some of the questions answered that she had wanted so much to ask, and she was so relieved that he chose to do it in this way.

As Levy finished cleaning up the store and locking up, she made certain that the notebook was tucked securely into her bag. She shrunk into her coat as the cold air bit at her cheeks and flushed them while she locked the front door to the shop. If she wasn't afraid of busting her butt, she would have run to her destination to get out of the cold sooner, which was only getting worse as the daylight slowly died out.

Her eyes fixed on her feet to watch her hurried steps, which kept her eyes off the path in front of her. And sent the blunette crashing right into someone and knocking her bag out of her hands into the snow. "Shoot!" I'm so sorry!" She burst, quickly stooping down to gather her things.

"It's fine, miss." A smooth male voice answered, and before she could grab the one item _most_ important, he beat her to it. Her stomach dropped, but all he did was hand it to her, and get up wordlessly to continue on his way before she could even seen his face.

"Ah, th-thanks!" Levy called after him, but he was already gone. She sat there a moment, slowly rearranging her belongings into her bag, before getting to her feet and shaking her head as she hurried off.

It was almost completely black outside by the time she made it to the library and found herself finally back in a warm place. There were still a few hours until it closed for the night, and the girl wasted no time finding a private spot with a computer.

With a cautionary glance around her, she candidly pulled the book from her bag and opened it straight to a page she had marked last night. Levy's face darkened a little.

 _December 15, 2010_

 _X777 continues to resist the treatments and refuses to succumb as the other subjects have. The conditioning process has taken extraordinarily longer and it severely hinders our progress. He displays incredible potential for full conversion but the indignant fire will not go out and any partial conversions thus far have been unstable due to fractious temperament._

 _There is promise in other methods. Deprivation of course shows much effectivity in trials with canines. I have much hope in applying this and will modify his treatment plan accordingly._

Her stomach twisted painfully, and she leafed past some damaged pages to reach another entry.

 _January 19, 2011_

 _Isolation protocols have made a much more pliable subject of X777. The fire is not yet extinguished but I can see the resignation, I am thrilled by our progress; we have been able to to increase the channel output significantly, and reached nearly 75% conversion._

 _It is unprecedented to have gotten this far and for the subject to still be alive at the end of the process. He has, however sustained damage that will require us to unfortunately halt sessions for a day or so. My assistants advise me if we dose him again and push infusions sooner we may lose him entirely. I am loath to slow our progress, but it can't be helped._

 _The data recorded today will be invaluable to future subjects. I have high hopes for field testing in the foreseeable future once we have reached this level with more subjects. I would very much like to place him with X772 once we reach controllable conversions. There is a strong enough foundation here that I feel our donors will be very pleased._

Levy's eyes burned with tears that threatened to fall, wrought with guilt and pity at every horrible words she read in the old book. Far more detailed accounts of the trials, the consequences, and those that died along the way. The entries only went as far as mid 2011, leaving her to suspect that there were many more books that chronicled the duration of the experiments.

The blunette turned her attention now to the computer after checking her privacy one more time. _I never actually…tried to dig into the place more. I just went off what people had said when we decided to go there._ She thought, pulling up the library database and going straight for the news archives. _What do I even search._ She thought, trying to recall details from anything Gajeel had told her, and counting something out on her fingers.

After a minute, she went to refine her search, narrowing results to 2012 and just typing the word "laboratory" into the keyword field. _264 results. That's a start._ She buckled down, and sifted through countless drug recalls, promotions, medical developments, and everything she wasn't looking for.

Until, finally, there it was. ' _Jupiter Technology Closes After Incident.'_

 _Incident?_ Levy tilted her head in confusion. The article was as vague as she could expect…but she had been mistaken on why they were closed. Yes, the lab closed permanently because of what was found, but that wasn't what catalyzed the process. The article talked about significant damage done to the facility on the night of September 7th, 2012.

' _Seven casualties were identified after the incident. Among the casualties were Jupiter Technology's CEO, and several researchers on staff. Rumors are circulating of military involvement, but nothing can be confirmed at this time. Remaining staff of the facility, including head of technological development, Dr. Porla, could not be located or contacted for comment."_

Levy's heart sank. _No mention of any of the subjects at the lab…_

The sound of footsteps heading her way caused Levy to quickly close the window and stuff the book away. A glance over her shoulder just showed the librarian making her rounds with the book cart. She sighed and checked the time, before deciding it was time for her to leave, and be where she could really think about what she had uncovered. _Did Gajeel…_ A shudder ran through her at the thought, and her imagination conjured an image of her dragon in a rage, of people falling before him….

Levy shook her head violently, allowing the cold air to berate her for thinking of such a thing. The next thought was regarding what she read. And her stomach sunk again. _What they did to him. What he must have endured…._

* * *

Numb fingers struggled to open her front door, and once inside she made a beeline straight for her thermostat to turn on the heat. She slipped out of her coat, hung it on a hook by the door and kicked off her boots. Levy flipped on the lights on her way to the fireplace, and picked up some small logs stacked by the mantle to toss in before starting up the fire. The warmth was more than welcome and brought the sensation back into her fingers.

With a relaxed smile on her face, Levy went to plug in her phone to a set of speakers and turned on some soft music. A hum rose in her to accompany the melody as she set about warming up some soup she had made the night before; she needed something to ease her nerves. While waiting for the food to be ready, she wandered into her room to change out of her work clothes and into warm, pale yellow pajamas. Levy pulled her yellow headband from her hair and ruffled it a little.

The chime of the microwave brought her back out into the kitchen. She had just set the bowl on the small kitchen table, when a tap at the window nearly shook her out of her skin as she threw her spoon across the room. So much for that. "Gajeel!" She gasped, catching sight of the very amused man outside. She rushed over to the double doors in the kitchen and pulled them open. "Get in here! You'll let all the heat out." She urged as he stepped in, covered in flakes, and quickly shut the doors again.

Much to her dismay he shook himself out, scattering snow all over her kitchen. "You're a hard one t'catch alone these days. Also nice toss." He commented with regards to the spoon, placing a large hand on her head to muss her hair a little with his trademark _gihe!_ chuckle. An embarrassed grumble escaped her as she rushed to pick up the utensil and wipe it off with her shirt. His red eyes swept over her, taking in the small girl and her attire. _Fuckin' hell, she's adorable. She's outright adorable._ He thought, his gaze lingering on her face. On her gentle brown eyes, on the flush of her cheeks.

"That's your fault. Stupid." She muttered, but she couldn't help smiling at the black coat and the red scarf that was wrapped around his head to keep his hair back. He looked comfortable, and her responsibility for that was warming. But more noticeable, was that he hadn't changed. He stood before her just as himself, not as the iron dragon that had invaded her thoughts menacingly earlier that night. Guilt pricked in her chest.

"Where ya been?" He asked now, softer, making himself at home and pulling out a chair to plop into it. Levy felt her cheeks warm and a flutter in her stomach.

"Working." Levy sighed.

Gajeel grimaced and huffed, resting his hands and chin on the back of the chair. "What're you doin' that for."

She couldn't help but laugh, and turned to scoop an extra bowl of soup without really thinking about it. "Cause I have to, silly." She responded, setting the bowl in front of him before she took her own seat next to him at the table. "It's terrible out there, why'd you come out in weather like this?" Levy asked, blowing on a spoonful of soup. Gajeel had glanced curiously at his bowl and sniffed before he took his own bite. The warm food, the crackling fire, the gentle music in the background, and the enthralling creature next to him were all incredibly domestic. _Where, along the line, did I deserve something like this?_

"I wanted to see ya." He mumbled after swallowing his mouthful. _It's too damn exhaustin' to not say it. What I got to lose._ He thought, studying her face, _Well…that's a stupid question. Her, obviously. But I can't be anything but honest to a face like that._

To his delight, Levy's face flushed again and her soup suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room. "Oh." She responded, scarfing down another mouthful.

"It's…I haven't seen ya in a while. I thought something was up." He shifted a little, "You…read it right?" He asked tentatively. It was the elephant in the room and he wanted to get it out of the way.

Levy stopped and stared at the table, before nodding. "Yeah."

The flat, puzzling tone left Gajeel feeling incredibly nervous. She had let him inside, sat comfortably next to him, but she wasn't looking at him.

"I read it." She said, and looked to him then. "You were X777, weren't you?"

He grit his teeth and tensed his shoulders, looking away from her now as well. "Yeah. Are you…are you afraid?" He asked, the words bitter in his mouth.

Gajeel heard her shift, heard the chair slide on the hardwood floor, and he had just turned to face her but only saw blue. Red eyes widened and his heart nearly stopped as a soft warmth settled over him. Levy had wound her arms around his neck and nestled her face into his shoulder, barely having to bend to reach his seated height. Especially since he sat up stick straight as soon as he realized what was happening. _What is she doing?_ The contact was strange, it baffled him and set his every sense alight. He became hyperaware; he could feel her breath on his neck, he could feel the hairs on his arms stand up, he could hear his blood in his ears…

"I'm so sorry." Levy whimpered, her voice cracking. There was the smell of salt, and Gajeel's heart began to race. "I am so sorry for what they did to you, I–" Her voice broke with her tears and she held him tighter, her small frame shaking. "It's unthinkable."

"Sh-shorty?" Gajeel stammered, lifting his hands in front of him a little. "H-hey, don't cry." He encouraged, the thought of tears overflowing from her eyes was like a stab in the chest.

"I'm not crying." Levy mumbled and sniffed, holding him tighter. _I want….to ask about the article. But…now isn't right._

Gajeel, finally, relaxed and angled himself to face her more directly. Slowly, he lifted his hands to place one on the back of her head, tangling into her hair. The other went around her waist, pulling her sideways into his lap. She did not protest, her stomach did flips, but she continued to cling to him. He closed his eyes, pressing his nose into her neck, his clouded mind soaring with how right she fit against him. _Thank you, Levy._

"Please don't go back out there, Gajeel. Stay."


	9. Dawn's Intermission

**A/N: Thank you, again, so much for all of the positive feedback. You guys are awesome and I'm really really happy you all like this story so much! This is a scene I've really wanted to do for a while to really establish some things, and in a way it's kind of an intermission chapter(so to say?) that didn't quite feel right going on the end of ch8, nor does it feel right going straight into what I have planned for the future, so it's unfortunately short. So, enjoy the fluff, but don't get _too_ comfy. **

**This chapter's soundtrack: The Wolves – Bon Iver (Straight up I had this on repeat while writing this).**

* * *

Levy fidgeted nervously with the edge of the blanket she had wrapped around herself, staring into the fire with her back against the couch. The sound of the fire, crackling and hissing, tried to overpower the sound of running water in the background. When that didn't suffice, she tried to focus on the sound of her music, which helped only a little. The blunette glanced to the clock on the wall, surprised that it wasn't as late as she thought it was. Maybe because it felt like eternity since she had offered for him, a man, to use her shower. At night.

She had been the one that insisted, knowing how nice a hot shower, especially on a cold night, could feel. And really…when had he been able to use one last? Levy was just trying to be helpful. But she definitely had not planned ahead to the point where she would be sitting here waiting, by herself, while he was in _her_ shower. There were places her thoughts had started to wander, but with flaming cheeks and violent head shakes, she dashed them away. _It's not even a big deal. I'm just giving him basic necessities._ She tried to tell herself.

"You really gotta get stuff that doesn't all smell like flowers. Makin' me smell like a damn fairy." His voice startled her, and she jumped while looking to him abruptly. Immediately, her face went red.

He stood there, rubbing his mane roughly with the towel she had lent him. The flannel pants she had found seemed to fit too. More than that, however, the old green t-shirt she had dug up clung to him tightly, dampened by his poor job at drying his hair.

Gajeel, noticing her stare, shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

Levy shook her head a bit too fervently and pulled her blanket up to her face a little. "Nothing!" She answered quickly, glancing again at his untamed hair. She furrowed her brow before she got up quickly, much to his surprise, and marched back to the bathroom in the hall. He could only watch her with lifted brows, his hand that held the towel dropping a little.

She returned with a brush in hand, and pointed to the floor in front of the couch, "Sit there." Levy instructed bluntly. Normally, there might have been a smartass reply, or some kind of retort, but Gajeel was far too intrigued to come up with anything. Quietly, he took a seat, and she moved to settle crosslegged behind him up on the couch. He looked over his shoulder at her, the questions playing on his face. Levy merely took his head in her hands, and pointed his face away from her. "Hand me the towel and then hold still." She said softly. Compliantly, he reached back and gave her the towel.

She draped the towel over his shoulders, then sifted her delicate fingers through his hair to pull it up and rest it all on top of the towel, bringing a visible shudder from him. _He'll catch cold if all that water drenches his shirt._ Slowly and much to Gajeel's surprise, she started to work the brush through, being careful not to yank on any of his many, thick tangles. She mumbled quiet apologies every time he tensed, but they otherwise sat in silence, with her music still playing in the background and the fire slowly dying out.

Eventually, Gajeel allowed his eyes to close and he leaned his head back. Her touch sent tingles throughout him and settled a profound sense of peace in his chest. He wasn't ready to run, ready to defend himself, ready to fight off intruders. Not a single other thing existed to him other than her and her touch.

Levy smiled softly to herself, enjoying the peace just as much. The quiet wasn't unusual for her. The company, however, was. Sure, she had Lucy, but that was very different from what she had here. Levy had spent days trying to sort out how different. But here, now, as they were, there was no more thought needed.

Section by section, she sifted through his hair and delicately worked out the tangles, moving methodically and zoning out into the process. She was unsure of how much time had passed when she had worked through all of that black mane of his, but the fire had reduced to cinders and his hair was almost completely dry. Quietly, she set the brush aside and contented herself with running her fingers through his hair. Her eyes were heavy, and eventually she settled onto her side, still idly playing with her fingers.

"Gajeel?" Levy spoke up, her voice heavy with sleep.

"Hmm?"

"Is Lily okay on nights like these?"

Gajeel chuckled, resting his head back on the couch, "He's great. All the rats come inside when it gets cold like this so he has a field day. It's his favorite." Amusement hung on his tone.

Levy smiled, "That's good." Her voice was barely audible as she twirled a lock around her finger. "You know…you can bring him here if you want."

Gajeel huffed a small laugh, "If I stay here long enough he'll probably find his way here eventually."

Her face warmed and the familiar flutter in her stomach accompanied it. _If you stay…_ Levy was no longer surprised by the fact that she didn't want him to leave. It was a feeling she couldn't describe well, but she felt like he belonged here. The idea of him going back to the way things had been for him, hiding in the dark by himself, was no longer something she could imagine. And she could tell he felt the same. There was an unspoken settling that had happened tonight, and to her it felt like a victory. "I would like it, if you stayed that long." She mumbled.

He glanced back at her and met her gaze. There was a need, something in her eyes that made him feel like he didn't belong anywhere else but here. "Me too, shrimp." Gajeel replied.

"I'm glad." She closed her eyes finally. "It's not so empty…with you here.." Levy barely whispered, finally losing the battle with sleep.

Gajeel took in the slumbering girl behind him, wrapped up in the knit blanket. It felt strange, having someone rely on him like that. But he wanted nothing more than to never let her down, to be the best that he could be for her. _Is this what purpose feels like?_ He thought, reaching back to pull the blanket up over her shoulder. His hand lingered, and he brushed his knuckles against her warm cheek. Gajeel's eyes settled on her pink lips, lingering there pointedly. There was a heat that rose in his chest, followed by a fear that was different from what he had known before. Abruptly, he looked away, biting his lip. _Fuck._ His hand found its way to his forehead, massaging his temple. _Is this what_ that _feels like? Geez…Can I even say it?_

* * *

Levy awoke on her stomach, surrounded by warmth. The blunette blinked slowly, squirming a little under the blanket and taking a moment to remember why she was on the sofa. She turned her head, pressing her face into the cushion, and glimpsed the figure on the floor lit by the early morning light. Her cheeks turned pink, _Oh._ She shifted to try and rub her face, but her right hand was held in place by something, and there was a gentle squeeze when she tried to pull away. Levy scooted carefully to look over the edge of the couch, and couldn't help the smile that spread on her face.

Gajeel had settled onto his back on the floor, with the second blanket she had brought out last night pulled over him. His hair was spread out beneath him and partially over his peaceful face. One arm was tucked behind his head, supporting it, and the left was across his chest…with his hand holding hers. Levy couldn't help but marvel at the size difference, how tiny her fingers were laced between his.

Somehow, in the middle of the night, their hands had found each other. And if Levy wasn't so worried about waking him and breaking contact, she might have started flailing because, _Oh my god he's holding my hand. He's holding my hand and we slept in the same place and what am I supposed to do._

There was another squeeze of her hand, and a long intake of breath. "You're an open book, shrimp…" His husky voice broke the silence, and he cracked open an eye to look at her. "Could you freak out a little louder?"

 _What! I didn't make a sound!_ She thought frantically, eyes widening.

At the sight of her, saucer-eyed, red, peeking over the couch cushion down at him, he couldn't help himself. " _Gi-he-he!"_ A hearty chuckle, the kind that pricks at the corners of your eyes with mirth. "You okay up there?" He teased, flashing a fanged smile in his attempt to hide the fact that his own heart was racing as well.

"Mhm…!" She hummed anxiously, pressing her face back into cushion a little more. Before realizing it, her grip tightened on his hand.

Gajeel glanced down, then back up at her. "Is _this_ okay?"

Levy paused a moment, before slowly nodding her head. He tightened his grip a little in response, and she swore she could see a tension she hadn't noticed previously leave him. "Good." He replied, keeping his piercing gaze on her for a moment longer before looking back to their hands and lifting hers up a little. Gently, like handling glass, he moved her hand around in his gasp as though studying it. "They're so small." He mused aloud, and Levy felt protest rise in her. But she couldn't say anything, her words drying up in her throat. She could only watch him, and watch how unspeakably gentle he was with her. "How's someone so small let someone like me in?" He finally asked, his eyes avoiding her face. "How come you're not afraid?" It was a question that wouldn't leave him alone, that swirled every time he saw her.

"Because I don't need to be." Levy answered frankly. "You'd never hurt me." Her thoughts drifted back to the article she had read yesterday, before she stuffed them back again for later.

The weight of her words hit him hard. _I would never._ He looked now to the healing scab at her hairline. _Never on purpose._ He amended, and his stomach twisted a little at the possibility that he _could_ , unintentionally. Just because of what he was. _But god, I swear. I will never let anything hurt you. As long as you let me, I'll protect you._

"You're not that monster hiding in the dark. Not like the stories. You're kinder than you let on. And you're a person." Levy continued, shifting her hand to intertwine her fingers back into his again. "Just as deserving of love and kindness as anyone else."

Gajeel's eyes widened and he searched her face, but with flushed cheeks she kept her gaze on their hands. She knew exactly what she was saying, and as they were right now, she felt there was no better time to say it.

However, the silence that followed was almost suffocating, but relieving at the same time. His lack of a response _was_ disappointing, but then again she really couldn't expect a response. She had been intentionally indirect, and he had no obligation to anything really. No part of this was normal.

Levy, finally, put on a warm smile and looked to him. Gajeel could have sworn that his heart stopped right then, and his throat went painfully dry. _Fucking say something._ His thoughts screamed at him. _Jackass, say SOMETHING!_

"Lucy knows I work today, so she shouldn't be over, you don't have to worry. I work until 5." She took her hand from his and sat up, and Gajeel abruptly followed suit. But she kept talking before he could say anything, "I want you to have anything that's in the closet in the master. Obviously you wont be able to use half of it," She looked to the side briefly, "But the rest of it, if you want it, is yours." She was more than happy to help him into normal clothing, and to finally put good use to something that has sat stagnant for years.

Before she stood, she placed a hand on his cheek, smiled again, and with iron resolve leaned forward to gently kiss his forehead. She intentionally gave him no time to react–he couldn't have anyway, completely frozen in the spot–and headed off with a bounce in her step into her room to change, closing the door quietly behind her.

Levy's face went straight into her hands, both to decompress her raging nerves and try to contain her relief at voicing how she felt. Or least how she was starting to. _So much for things not being complicated._

No, it doesn't make sense. Yes, it's crazy. But what she had just done in the living room felt so natural, easy, and like it was something she could do for the rest of her life. _I thought it was just because I wanted him to be okay, to help him. Because no one ever has, and he has been hurt…so badly, by so many people._ Levy slowly lifted her face back from her hands, leaving one cupped over her mouth. _Am I really…do I really…?_


	10. Chapter 10

If she thought she had been distracted earlier in the week, it was nothing compared to her state right now. Fortunately the weather today kept the shop more or less dead. Books weren't quite enough to entice people to come out in the miserable weather outside.

Which was fine with her, because it gave her time to replay the night over and over in her head. The image of him, asleep, and her hand in his, was seared into her mind and kept a smile on her face. She still had a hard time wrapping her head around how large he was, how strong she had seen him be, and how gently he held her hand in that moment. The same hands that had thrown and demolished equipment like it was nothing, and cratered the earth with a singular punch. Those same hands held hers with such profound tenderness. It had given her such a strong sense of safety, and security, and that was likely why she had the courage to say what she did.

No, he hadn't said anything when he really could have this morning. But she had still moved forward significantly with him, and even if he hadn't replied, his actions were clear. Levy had a tendency to read too much into things, but there were things that he did that she felt were obvious. The way he looked at her wasn't lost on her, and the lingering stares were enough to set her heart racing.

She began to wonder how she was going to continue to hide this from Lucy. Her friend wasn't dense, she would pick up sooner or later that something was up. Especially since she had basically invited him to stay, long term, in her home. It wasn't something she had brought up with Gajeel since he first told her, sternly, to never let another person know she was coming to see him. But that seemed like forever ago, and perhaps his position had changed. She could talk to Lucy, explain, and still keep him safe.

The ring of the front door brought her out of her head. Levy looked over her shoulder at the customer and smiled, "Welcome!" She called cheerily. The man, dressed in a coat, barely gave her any more acknowledgement other than a small hum and a tilt of his head. "Let me know if I can help you find anything today." She added, prompting him to look at her this time. _Huh, he's new._ She thought, looking the man over. His reddish black hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and he had a dramatic, long mustache to match. _Well, that's a statement._ She thought.

"Where could I get access to public records around here?" He asked, eyes wandering around the book store with what looked like an annoyed grimace.

"Oh, those would be at the library. On 4th and Draper." She replied, keeping pleasant regardless of his cold demeanor.

He set his gaze back on Levy, and the girl couldn't help but shift uneasily. The man furrowed his brow a second, then seemed to recognize something. "Ahh, I thought the hair was familiar. I think I met you, abruptly, heading in that direction yesterday." He now flashed a lopsided grin. Levy stiffened, but kept on a tense smile.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry about that sir, I was in a hurry and not paying attention!" She put up a fake laugh, trying to quell the nervous twist in her stomach. _Who is this guy?_

"It's fine," He trailed off, before he glanced at her name tag, " _Levy._ Lovely name. Very unique." He commented, "Since I'm here, you have any books on urban legends?" He asked finally, tilting his head, "I'm a collector."

It took Levy a moment to collect herself. "Yes, yes we have just a few. They're in fiction, here." Levy beckoned him a couple of aisles over and pointed out the small selection. "I hope you find what you're looking for, let me know if there's anything else I can help you with."

The man, unexpectedly, placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her in a way that made her feel he was privy to something she was unaware of. "Oh, I will, miss." He grinned again and released her, and Levy was more than willing to leave him to his devices to return to the register. She tried to clean, to not seem so anxious in his presence. Because besides the fact that he had nearly seen the inside of the notebook yesterday, there was just something overly unsettling about him. His reading choices didn't help either.

The man finally came up to her desk, placing a paperback book on the counter. ' _Magnolia Myths and Legends.' "_ I'll take this one." He said while pulling out his wallet.

Levy nodded and rang him up, and he said not another word to her as he took his item and turned to leave. What he did do, was give a small flourish with his hand to bid her farewell before disappearing outside.

 _What a strange person._ Levy thought, standing there while chewing on her fingernail. _I don't…I don't feel good about this._

She occupied herself with organizing and some occasional reading of the rest of the day, trying to move past it. Rereading a few chapters of some of her old favorites helped, and in the midst of it she was struck with an idea. _I should stop by the hardware store on my way home._

* * *

It was with great apprehension that Levy returned home that day, trying her best to downplay what had transpired and write it up to just be some weird newcomer. Just someone doing research. _Maybe he was a writer? Like Lucy?_

It took her several tries to get her key into the door, partially because of a heavy bag she had in her other hand. When she opened it to find her house guest splayed out on her sofa, with a book no less, her troubled heart calmed. A smile graced her features now and she quickly closed the door behind her. Having him be the first thing she saw when she walked in was nothing short of pleasant, and the way his face lit up when he saw her gave her that all-familiar flutter.

"Hey," He called to her, sitting up and quickly tossing the book to his side. She laughed gently at the action.

"You're allowed to look at those, y'know." Levy encouraged, hanging up her jacket. She noticed that the book had been the one she read to him that one night and smiled warmly. "Good choice." There was an immediate warmth in her face.

Gajeel hummed and shifted in his seat. The air was awkward, and the exchange seemed clumsy. Levy had built it all up in her head all day so much that she didn't even consider that when she returned it wouldn't necessarily be all easy peasy.

"I stopped on the way home to pick something up for you." She smiled, holding up the thick plastic bag. Gajeel lifted a brow and stood as she approached him. "It's a bunch of random stuff and I'm sure they think I'm a weird artist because I asked them for anything iron that they had." As she handed it to him, he peeked inside to see an assortment of cast-iron handles, brackets, and a couple other random pieces of hardware. "Didn't think you'd care what they were as long as they were iron." She smiled as he looked down to her, both surprised and grateful.

"Thanks shorty." He flashed a toothy grin, pulling out a bracket and popping it into his mouth like a piece of candy. "Ohh, these're good." It was still fascinating for Levy to watch, and she was transfixed staring at him before he noticed her. The girl jumped a little with a blush, and hurried into the kitchen to get herself food, because she certainly couldn't eat a drawer handle.

He idly followed her into the kitchen, and took a seat at the table while munching on his sustenance of choice. There was a quiet moment of him looking her over, settling on the smile playing on her face. _She looks so…when she smiles she…_ He found himself smiling slightly as a result. "Where d'you work?" He asked, trying to break the silence. Levy laughed a little, knowing he would make fun of her.

"A bookstore downtown. Started when I was sixteen and I've been there almost three years now." She bit her lip, waiting for his reaction because really, how typical. She set her plate on the table next to him and took a seat.

The corners of his eyes crinkled, and he laughed heartily, "Gi-he-he! What a surprise! I feel like I've got you all figured out, shrimp." He grinned, and Levy tilted her head a little, resting her cheek on her palm as she looked over to him, happy to see him with a genuine smile on his face.

"Well that's not fair." She whined, "I hardly know a thing about you. Like who you were before all this." Levy said tentatively, "Or how even you got into the kind of thing you did."

"I don't remember a lot, it's pieces mostly." He admitted first. Levy was surprised, but pleased that he chose to answer her. "What I do remember, is that I was a punk." Gajeel smirked to himself. "Dropped out of school and got into nothin' but trouble, made my way getting in fights and stealing. Lived out of my car. I saw a posting for easy money, just some 6 week study or whatever and I was broke, so I figured why not." He swept one hand to gesture to himself and cocked his head, "Obviously that was bullshit."

Well, it wasn't an answer that surprised her. She hated judging by a cover, but his appearance didn't contradict with the story. Hard, studded features, an air of rough masculinity…It was all something someone could easily assume first looking at him. "So you used to live here? In Magnolia?"

Gajeel nodded, munching now on a handle. "Years ago." He looked to her, sensing that she was trying to make small-talk. It was comforting to see that she was just as unnerved as he was after this morning. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about it all day, eventually resorting to her books to try and get his mind off it. Regardless, her words were on repeat in his thoughts, and it was a continuous internal battle trying to decide if she really meant what he thought she did. All efforts ended, repeatedly, in him cursing her subtlety. _Just be up front._ He had reprimanded to the air more than once.

But he was one to talk. Chickening out like he did that morning. He had plenty of opportunity to say something, but he didn't even know what he was supposed to say. The word love was not one that had really existed in his vocabulary, before or after the experiments, and it wasn't something he knew a thing about. But he did know that it was fucking terrifying when it had fallen on her lips.

With his eyes on her, however, he felt like he was making his own definition of it as he went, whether he liked it or not. Levy had those big honey eyes on him, expecting him to say something else, watching him. Looking at him the way no one on this earth ever had, the way he never felt anyone should. Because _god_ she was this incredible, compassionate, bright, _beautiful_ creature that had bewitched him, entirely. He couldn't deny that any more. Conversely, all he was, was a dragon in a cave. And she didn't see that at all when she looked at him.

The silence left Levy to shift a little uncomfortably, with nothing to distract her, her mind started to wander. She tried to keep that person out of her thoughts, as much of nothing it probably was, but sitting here quietly with Gajeel wouldn't let her escape it. She didn't think she could ease herself until she said something. _I need to…_ "Gajeel, I think I need to tell you something."

Misinterpreting it to be something else, Gajeel jumped a little and shook his head quickly to cut her off as he turned more to face her, scooting his chair forward. "No." He said simply. "I got somethin' I need to say first." _Go for it, damnit. Be a man for once._

His hand moved before he knew what he was doing, and her eyes went wide as he held her chin between his thumb and hooked forefinger. _What, what is he…!_ This is _not_ what she had planned for, and it trapped the words she needed to say in her throat.

Clear as day, he could hear her heart race, and he could hear her breath become staggered.

His initial intention was just to hold her there, to look at her and speak directly, closely, and uninterrupted. To keep her from interrupting him with the incredibly important thing he wanted to say. That was it, he didn't give a damn about personal space because he just wanted to _see_ her. Really see her.

But his subconscious was not about to let him stop there, and before he knew it he was leaning in. _Gajeel…what are you doing?_ Levy's thoughts raced, screamed at her, but everything was going cloudy and she melted in his grip. Gajeel inhaled to focus on only her scent, and take in the sweet flowery smell that he had become very acquainted with. To give him the resolve to say what he wanted. And the first thing he smelled _was_ that, as his eyes fluttered shut peacefully and she followed suit.

And then there was something else. Something that nearly stopped his heart cold and made his eyes fly open.

His gentle touch became assertive, suddenly drawing her closer, but not in the same way as before. Not the way that Levy had found herself wanting him to. He sniffed again, particularly at her shoulder. "Gaj–?"

It took a second, a split moment, and he recoiled from her so violently that he knocked over his chair and hit the table noisily on his way up. Gajeel staggered backwards until he hit a counter, lifting an accusing finger at the very startled girl. "Th-that," He stammered, his voice cracking. "He can't…"

"Gajeel?!" Levy stood, raising her hands in front of her slowly, "Gajeel what's happening? What's wrong?" She tried to keep her voice even, calm. But she'd be lying if she wasn't suddenly frightened by the violent change.

"You," Gajeel hissed, his face a mixture of fury and terror. From his neck, grey scales started to appear and travel upwards and his eyes blazed. "That smell, why the _fuck_ do you…" He tripped over his words, forcing them out. "Levy, _why!"_ He shouted now. The use of her name, for the first time, struck her.

His immediate, self-preserving instinct was that she had betrayed him. That everything up until this very instant was a lie. That she lied about everything, she used him, lured him in, and was about to _destroy_ him. But then there was a stronger part of him that cried out against that, be it desperate denial or reason. It screamed into his thoughts, telling him don't you _dare_ hurt her and don't you _dare_ lump her in with them. Because there was no earthly possibility that she could. She was the light his life had lacked, his saving grace. But right now she was all of these things with the scent of the devil on her.

"Gajeel, please! Talk to me! What's going on?" She pleaded, trying to take a step towards him and reach for him as she had int he past, but he flinched away from her, and it was like a shot through her heart. Her hand hovered uselessly in front of her.

"You smell like _him."_ He spat, a hand reaching up to dig iron claws into his hair. "That fucker, that…he's the one, Levy!" Gajeel's voice cracked again with utter, raw fear. He hunched forward, eyes blazing. "Why do you smell like _Jose?!"_ The venom all but spat from his voice.

Immediately the man in the shop today came to mind and she went cold. She finally understood why he made her so uneasy. Why him seeing the journal had been so initially nerve-wracking. Her stomach dropped, and the tears started to spill over because _oh god_ she had screwed up. She should have told him the second she came in the door. "Is he the one that did this to you?" She asked finally, trying to understand. Gajeel, in that moment, seemed to calm just enough to lean forward towards her, the smell of salt now assaulting his senses. It was her turn to flinch, involuntarily, and she regretted it immediately. "Someone new came to the store today. That's what I tried to tell you. And I think, he might have seen the journal yesterday…" Gajeel's eyes widened and his mouth went dry. "I'm so sorry, Gajeel," The tears fell freely now, a combination of fear, concern, and feeling as though she had somehow put him back where he used to be. "I was, I was going to the library yesterday and I ran into someone and I dropped it. And he saw it and, I'm sorry _please_ calm down Gajeel." She rambled, her brown eyes searching his face desperately for anything that had been in them the night before.

"He saw it." Gajeel fell back against the counter again, his voice shaking uncontrollably. "Damnit!" He roared, slamming a fist on the counter and making her jump. "He knows where to find me. God damnit, he _knows where I am."_ He grit his fangs together, digging claws into the wooden countertop. "If he's come now, he's not alone." He muttered, horrified.

 _Seven casualties._ The sudden thought was like a blow. Levy's thoughts started to swirl uncontrollably with the incriminating article she had read the day before, unable to focus on anything else. _Seven casualties._ She saw him like this in front of her and her heart broke. Because she didn't want to see him like this, this wasn't the Gajeel she had come to know; it wasn't the Gajeel she woke up to this morning. _Seven casualties._ This Gajeel had murderous rage in his eyes, and now more than ever she needed to know the truth. _Did he kill seven people?_

"Ga-jeel," The sob shook her and he lowered his hand from his head. His instincts screamed at him to go to her, and to stay away from her at the same time. "Are you the one that destroyed it? When it shut down and they found all those people? Is this how you were then?"

The question was out of left field, and he went cold hearing that come from her. Gajeel's arms fell limp by his sides and his shoulders slumped in defeat, anguish taking over his face. "How do you…" His voice was barely more than a whisper.

"I found the article. In the library." She answered, her hands gripping each other in front of her chest, desperate for something to hold onto as she felt everything slipping away from her.

"Do you think…?" He couldn't even finish it, because for the first time since he first met her, she looked at him with fear. And who could blame her? He had gone zero to sixty in nothing flat, transformed in front of her, shouted at her, and put a hefty dent in her counter. On top of all that, she now knew the truth about the shut down and thought that _he_ was the one that did it. _She knows. And she thinks I…_

Levy had opened her mouth, trying to tell him that she didn't _know_ what to think. But she couldn't get it out.

"I can't stay here." He finally said, eyes darting anxiously around him. "He knows." Gajeel mumbled. "He _knows_ I'm here. That I'm alive." His body coiled again. _She's better off._ A cruel, mirthless laugh fell from him and he swayed in place as though losing his balance, feeling his body go numb.

"N-No, Gajeel, wait," Levy pleaded, hastily wiping the tears from her face.

"I _am_ that monster in the dark. You're naive for thinking otherwise, I'm fuckin' glad you know the _truth_." Dull red eyes looked up at her and she coughed out a guttural cry at the sight of him. "I can't stay here. I can't go back to that hell, _I won't_. Forget me, kid." It was the calmest thing to come out of his mouth through the whole exchange yet, and the resolve in it killed her.

Levy lurched forward moments too late to stop him, as he flung open the double doors in the kitchen and raced out into the snow, disappearing into the darkness entirely. " _Gajeel!"_ Levy all but screamed into the void. In her desperation, a different thought came to her, that she wished like _hell_ she had said sooner. "Jose knows my name." She choked out, just as she heard keys scrape at her front door.

The door swung open, and she turned slowly to see a shocked, and ultimately concerned blonde in her doorway. Levy could see her lips moving, saying her name, and wondered how she looked in front of her friend. Sobbing in front of open doors as the snow wafted in, with the kitchen looking like an absolute mess. It only took a second for Lucy to rush over to her and take her by the shoulders. Levy could only choke out one more thing before she lost her composure and dropped to her knees.

" _I have to tell you something."_


	11. Chapter 11

"Are you _crazy?!"_

"Shut up, Natsu! Can't you see what she's like right now?" Lucy scolded the pink-haired boy sitting on the ottoman, from her spot on the sofa next to the blunette with her face in her hands. Levy had scarcely moved except for the constant shake after Lucy sat her down, and it took her almost an hour to come up with anything to say, or find the voice to. Afraid of losing her resolve again, Levy had spilled everything at once, from the visits to the times in this very house…barring several specifics. Specifics she was hardly ready to admit to yet.

Repeatedly she had to assure and halfway shout at Lucy that _no, he wasn't going to hurt me. He wouldn't hurt me. He was afraid and upset, that was the shouting. And the broken counter. He wouldn't hurt me, or anyone, you're not listening!_

Lucy had called Natsu immediately after to come over, because this _wasn't_ something she could do alone. And it was something they were _all_ involved in. Levy didn't bother to protest when Lucy told her who she was dialing. What did it matter now?

Natsu puffed his cheeks and bit down on his lip to try and stem the vocal stampede that was threatening to rush forth. Lucy shot him one more warning look, before focusing on Levy. Truthfully, she felt the same as Natsu initially. Had Levy presented this information to her in any other state than the emotional mess she was now, she probably would have put her through the ringer. Lucy's stomach was twisting uncontrollably throughout the entire conversation, and she felt absolutely sick that Levy had kept this from them, and had brought the source of their terror so close by no less.

"I-I'm so sorry." Levy finally said into her hands, her voice hoarse. "I never meant for it to be like this. I-I just…someone needed to do something, no one ever has." Slowly, she lifted her head to look at them both, and they were struck silent for a moment by the absolute devastation on her face. "He's not what everyone thinks. And I know that means nothing to you two, because all you saw was what happened that night. But he's not that." Her already red eyes started to water a little again, and Lucy resumed rubbing soothing circles on her back. "He's more than that. He's like us, he used to live here, he was normal once."

"Then why didn't you _tell us?"_ Natsu finally said, trying to keep his tone as non-judgmental as possible. "We're your friends, Levy."

Levy bit her lip guiltily. "Can you blame me?" She practically squeaked. "Especially with your dad being who he is."

Natsu, reactive as he was, opened his mouth to say something else quickly but Lucy shot him a look that wasn't like the one before. It was a look of understanding. Lucy was much more perceptive to Levy than he was, and when Lucy thought about it, she could understand. After all, that was why the three of them agreed to keep it quiet in the first place, because of how bizarre it all was. So imagine these additional developments and grappling with how to tell close friends about someone that didn't want to be known.

"I know I lied to you, I was just trying to do the right thing." Levy swallowed hard and hung her head in her hands again, "But I didn't expect to…With him I…" She trailed off and Lucy looked to her suddenly, leaving Natsu in the dark. He tilted his head, watching the thoughts fly across Lucy's face before she settled on some kind of realization. Lucy's eyes went wide, and she glanced to Natsu who could only mouth the word 'what?' to her. The blonde shook her head quickly, silencing him. Because he of course doesn't get it, but Levy wouldn't have to say another word for Lucy to understand. "I accused him of something _terrible_ , and I put him in danger. I just ended up betraying everyone and who knows what's going to happen to him now." Her voice cracked again and the tears fell once more. "I screwed up. He was so…" She coughed out a whimper, "I really, really screwed up."

"Hey!" Natsu called to her, breaking her out of her thoughts. "Didn't you hear what I said?" He called her attention back up from her hands. "We're your _friends_ Levy." The words came out slow, deliberate, "I'm miffed that you hid this from us, but you didn't 'betray' us. Now, it sounds to me like we've gotta find this guy."

Levy's eyes widened a little as he flashed her a toothy smile, and she looked to Lucy for affirmation. Her best friend put on a warm smile as well, "Levy…This is not easy. But we trust you. I know you. You can find the good in anyone. And if you saw something in this Gajeel person, then something is there." Lucy had waited anxiously all through high school for Levy to find someone. You know, like any best friend does. There had been drive-by crushes and interests here and there, but the blunette was a particular type, and it wasn't easy for someone to catch and hold her romantic attention. Despite that, she cared deeply, for just about everyone. It was inevitable that she would find someone on which to pour all her heart, and that when she did, it would be with great immoderation. It all made sense now.

The blunette watched Natsu nod in agreement with a kind smirk, and she leaned over into Lucy as she put her hand over her eyes. "You guys…" She choked, the hot tears spilling forward again. "Thank you."

Lucy hummed in acknowledgement, "Of course, Levy." She smiled again, gently. "Now, how can we help?"

Levy was beyond moved by the offer, and now couldn't help feeling terribly for thinking her own friends couldn't or wouldn't understand. Or be willing to stand by her. Having that kind of support took a great deal of the weight off her back and lit a spark of hope in her that allowed her to turn her thoughts back to her dragon, and the mustached man–Jose–that sent him into oblivion. Her chest tightened as the image of Gajeel's face surfaced clearly, and even more so when thinking of the threat that had driven him away. The threat that knew her face and her name. _He won't come for me. And I can't tell them he knows, it could put them in danger too. Knowing his name is good enough for now._

What Gajeel needed was some kind of protection, but how was she to give that to him? What could someone like her possibly do for him when what he's wrapped up in is far bigger than any of them could even comprehend?

None of that changed the fact that he needed her help. Hell if she knew how she was going to do it, but _none of that mattered_. Levy looked up with hope and determination in her puffy eyes, smiling gratefully to her friends. "I need to find him. I need…" She paused, "I need to make it right."

* * *

There was no sleep to be had for Levy that night, unlike the slumbering blonde next to her. Her thoughts raced, and she couldn't get him out of her head. Their final moments played over and over on a loop, and every time she closed her eyes, he was all she saw. Asking her why. _Why did I say that._

There was no guarantee that he would even want to see her when she went back, let alone even be there in the first place. But she would never forgive herself if she gave up. And she couldn't live with him not forgiving her.

The faint light outside provided some relief for her, as it signaled the end of _hours_ of pulling herself apart. At the crack of dawn, she slipped out of bed and wrote Lucy and Natsu–who was currently passed out in the living room as neither one of them wanted to leave her alone–a hasty note.

 _Went to the lab. I need to go alone, in case he is there. I made a promise, please understand. I will be back by noon. Thank you so much._

– _Levy_

With a knot in her stomach, she left it on the pillow next to Lucy, and quietly slipped into heavy layers before sneaking out in the grey morning light.

Fortunately for her, the layer of snow was not yet impossibly thick, yet still provided a challenge. It took the small woman much longer to arrive at the frosted fence, but it did not shake Levy's resolve. Knowing this way so well by this point, she marched with determination right towards the entrance, but as she got closer to the gaping doorway, she began to realize that something was different.

The snow outside the entrance was violently disturbed, all the way down to the dirt underneath. Debris from inside was now outside and littered the snow. Once inside, the lobby was in a greater state of ruin than it had been before. Which was saying something.

Desks were smashed, chairs flung across the room. _What did he…_ In her mind's eye she saw her gentle dragon in a rage, destroying anything he could inconsequentially take his anger out upon. It was a violence she did not want to imagine. The storm of emotions he must have felt was incomprehensible to her, and _she caused it_.

The blunette stood rooted, with a hand to her chest, in the middle of the room. "Gajeel?" She projected, unsure, her voice echoing within the walls.

Levy waited, knowing her voice could not possibly travel through the entirety of the impossibly large structure. But she knew him. And had an idea of his abilities. If he was here, he would hear her.

Nothing answered her but dead silence and the sound of a brushing breeze outside. Levy felt a lump rise in her throat as her prediction started to assemble in front of her. There was silence. "Gajeel!" Levy called out again, walking forward now through the fresh rubble.

Still nothing.

Something on the floor caught her eye, however, and she slowly navigated to see what it was. As she kneeled down and took the item up in her hands, her heart fell. Levy's eyes burned as the realization became more clear and her fears became tangible. In her hand was the red and white scarf she had given him, frayed and marred with dirt. _He's gone. He's really, truly gone._ Levy brought the scarf to her face, trying to smother the tears that had started to spill over. _Gajeel… There's so much I didn't say, please._

Desperately, she swept her gaze around the room again, before she focused, once more, on the staircase that led upwards. The one she had wondered about so many times before.

Levy clenched her fist around the scarf and all but ran to the stairwell and haphazardly scaled them. Everything else around her faded away in light of her new target, and she roughly pushed open the half-open door at the top. A loud screech resulted that filled the halls and made her jump, but didn't stop her.

The blunette found herself with three different halls to choose from, all lined with multiple doors, open and closed. More notable than that, it was clear that whatever rampage that had been the ultimate downfall of Jupiter Technology, ended on this floor.

Doors were completely ripped off their hinges and tossed aside like trash, walls had massive holes smashed into them. The hall directly ahead of her, however, looked far worse than any of the rest. Stepping over rubble and debris, she noticed that many of the doorways had plaques next to them with names. _Offices?_ She thought, passing several names she didn't recognize as well as what appeared to be a few janitorial rooms and supply rooms.

The further she got, the worse the damage was as well, and in it's own dark way it was promising for what she was ultimately looking for. Finally, one plate stopped her dead in her tracks. It was smashed in half and hung loosely from the damaged wall. The first name, however, was more than clear to her.

 _Jose._

Her eyes narrowed and looked beyond the gaping hole in the wall to the destroyed office. The desk was broken clear in half, and there were deep slashes in the walls. At least three semi-recognizable bookshelves and a filing cabinet were in the office, but only one still stood. Levy ducked through the hole in the wall, and maneuvered back to the standing shelf. She brushed away the thick layer of dust–partly age, partly from the destruction–from the books that were still on the shelf. Most were textbooks, and not particularly what she was looking for.

Peaking under the partially toppled shelves, she saw more textbooks and frowned. _This isn't what I need._ She thought, before finally lifting her eyes to the file cabinet, dented and leaning sideways against the wall. Several of the drawers were already extended, likely as a result of the trauma the unit had suffered. The very bottom drawer, partially open, was the one that interested her most. It was the only one with a keyhole by the handle.

Levy grabbed the rusted handle and pulled hard, and after several tries yanked the drawer open with a protesting screech. The blunette was more than pleased to find that inside was a thick stack of black-covered notebooks much like the one Gajeel had left her. Behind the stack, was a substantial amount of paperwork, divided up by year and month, and one divider labeled "Participants."

Her hands moved first to the books, grabbing the one at the front of the drawer with the hope that it was the most recent. The book crackled in protest as she pulled it open to one of the last pages.

 _August 29th, 2012_

 _Finally. The lacrima appear to at last be fully functional. Full conversion was maintained by multiple subjects at the last trial, with best control exhibited by X777. Each surviving subject has been a treat, and the roulette of discovering how the lacrima implants affect each has been a scientist's_ _ **dream.**_ _I cannot fully express the pride I feel at the success of this study, and this data is going to make us a_ _ **fortune.**_

 _Nearly all subjects are responding well to the revised conditioning process and outbursts have been reduced to less than 5 a week. X777 and X772 continue to be the most stubborn, but this issue is insignificant compared to our progress._

 _Field trials have yielded valuable data in a nearly uncontrolled environment, however our issue continues to be stopping each round in time. We lost one subject last week in the pit. A minor loss, but still, the list since beginning the matches continues to grow._

 _We are making the final preparations to submit my work; I am so close to the summit, I can taste it. The applications of the lacrima channels and infusions are limitless. The potential to weaponize is astronomical, and the negotiations to sell each subject are already rolling forward. With great compensation. Funds should double with the publication, allowing us to take in even more subjects and continue making our weapons._

 _This only goes to show that all the ethical red tape only_ _ **limits**_ _research. Once the paper is published they will all see, and the ethical board will understand the mistakes they have made._

 _I will make them understand._

Levy rocked back to sit flat on the floor, and rested her back against the demolished desk. Her free hand cleared the blue locks from her face and she stared straight ahead for a moment. Her thoughts spun, trying to absorb what she just read. _What is a lacrima?_ She thought, having finally discovered the root of all of it. The purpose of the experiments.

Quickly, she set the book aside and delved back into the drawer, hoping to find anything close to what the entry alluded to. She flipped past paper after paper, and one divider after the other, before seeing that key word she had been looking for. 'Lacrima.'

It didn't look like the full document they planned to publish, which wasn't surprising. Something like that was far more likely to be digital. This just seemed to be a reference document, a copy from a text that might have been the foundation for the entire experiment. Her eyes scanned over the document, widening a little more the farther she got.

' _Medium that can be implanted directly into subjects or compounded into intravenous injections.'_

' _Previously indicated to amplify latent abilities.'_

' _Have been shown to allow manipulation of certain elements, at random.'_

' _Users can convert states to match designated elements.'_

' _Side effects include relying on, even craving designated elements for sustenance. Difficulty controlling anger in high stress events.'_

' _Provide the user with enhanced senses and strength.'_

' _Significant fatalities amongst incompatible users.'_

Every description of ability, and everything she had read up to this point matched up. And she finally understood why Gajeel was so afraid of this person. Not only had Jose been the source of his torment, but there easily could have been a whole other world of torture in store for him if the lab hadn't been shut down. And this man, after three years, had returned. Presumably to reclaim valuable assets. _I can't blame him for running._ She thought finally, but the desire to help him burned even more than before. There had to be something she could do about it.

With added resolve, she scooped up the journal, a few others, and the documents that looked helpful. The blunette clutched it all to her chest and shut her eyes tight. "I'm going to find you, Gajeel. And I'm going to get you out of this."

* * *

Levy had to steel herself for the onslaught when she returned home with literature in hand. The guilt trips and the scolding were all taken with stiff posture and a downward gaze, with mumbled 'sorry's for good measure. Somehow at the end of it, she had convinced them that it was worth it, she was fine, and was finally able to give them the gist of what she had found.

"So he's superhuman." Natsu said finally, his wonder betraying him.

"In essence, yes. He's been implanted, against his will, with this lacrima stuff, and it's given him these abilities. His element is iron, who knows what kind of other elements the other subjects have. That explains his abilities and the fact that he eats it." Lucy and Natsu both shot her open-mouthed looks, and she was reminded of the details she hadn't told them yet. "He eats iron, and can live off it. It's a thing." She added quickly, trying to move past what she already knew. "I think with all of this there might be a way to do something. Because this is all _so illegal._ Not to mention inhumane." Levy explained, holding up her stack of proof.

"My dad might be able to help if we can prove that this Jose guy is in town." Natsu offered, and Lucy looked to him.

"Do you really want to tell Igneel? We did something illegal too, remember?" Lucy cautioned.

"I know. But this is way bigger. And he's the police chief, he has to be able to do something…once we have proof that this guy is around. To distract him from what _we_ did. And save me from a very long lecture. And from having to move back home…" Natsu trailed off with a grimace. Living on his own was infinitely more enjoyable, but he was no stranger to mischief and he was already on thin ice with his father thanks to several house parties. No boy his age wanted to move back in with a parent, no matter how much he liked the old man.

The blonde nodded in agreement, before looking back to her very quiet friend. "I take it he wasn't there." Lucy asked. Levy gave her a quiet, dejected shake of her head. "Did you find any clues on how you're going to find him?"

Levy's gaze dropped back to the floor with another shake of her head. "No." The word left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was not something she was thrilled to admit, and it only left her feeling just as poorly as before. "But I'm not going to give up." Levy added, looking back to her friends. "Thank you, for staying with me. And I'm sorry for everything…but I just need time to figure this out, you guys don't have to stay. I'm sure you have things to do." She mustered up the best smile she could manage, and she knew that Lucy would see right through her.

But Lucy also knew when to give her the space she needed. And with a nudge to Natsu, she nodded her head towards the door. He looked reluctant, and looked to Levy for affirmation.

"Really, I promise. You guys were here all night. I'm fine. I just have a lot fo reading to do." Levy insisted, as Lucy took him by the arm and started to pull him out.

"If you pull something else like this I'm not gonna let you off easy, Levy. Call me if you come up with anything." Lucy called over her shoulder on the way out the door.

The moment the door closed and clicked, Levy's smile fell. She exhaled the tension from her body and quietly padded down the hall to her room. The documents were dropped on her nightstand, and she pulled out the scarf she had stuffed into her coat's pocket. Those torturous tears pricked at her eyes again and she shook, trying to stifle it. _Where have you gone, Gajeel?_

Realizing now how painfully dry her throat was, she returned to her kitchen, desperate for water and a distraction. She was mid gulp when she heard a scratching at the double doors. Adrenaline spiked in her stomach and she whirled in excited surprise, but did not see the towering man she was so hoping for.

Honey-colored eyes trailed down the length of the doors, before settling on a black creature at the bottom, a dark gaze fixed on her expectantly. It took her a moment to register, until she saw the scar on the left side of his face. " _Lily?"_ She gasped, rushing to the doors to open them. The cat casually strolled inside, leaping up to the kitchen table as Levy closed the door behind him. He wrapped his tail around himself, and stared quietly at Levy.

She turned to stare back at the cat, a sudden dread rising in her. "Did he…He left you behind too, didn't he?" Levy wondered aloud, realizing she was talking to a cat. He only answered her with a rough _mrow._

The fact that he was here, that this little creature had found his way to her home… If he had left the lab, then this was the very last nail in her fear's coffin. This was it.

Levy moved forward slowly, and took a seat in front of the cat. She leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him gently. To her relief, he did not move and began to purr steadily as she pressed her damp cheek into his sleek black fur.

Here, in her little-big, quiet house, there was no way for her to keep running from it. Especially with this final, devastating development. _You have to say it. You have to say it so it's real._ "He's gone." She said aloud, her voice cracking slightly. "I don't know if he's coming back." Levy shut her eyes, forcing the tears down her face. "And I, god, I think I love him."


	12. The Beast's Interlude

**A/N: This is intentionally short. It's something I ultimately decided was better as a standalone, and is kind of an intermission until we get into the storyline again. This was just something I felt was important character-wise. Takes place directly after Ch. 10.**

* * *

"Damn it all!" A roar shook the damaged foundation, an iron fist swinging to knock a full desk across the lobby. His skull throbbed and burned with the tumultuous storm of emotions, roiling within him. Everything he thought he had, the peace he thought he had found, was ripped away from him. What a damn fool he was for thinking he could have a single thing he wanted.

Not only did he have his tormentor on his heels as well, but _she_ had revealed what she thought of him. Truly. And it couldn't really be a surprise, because look at him. He had torn the room half to shit in the rage he couldn't control. It was better for her to think that this was all there was to him. That he was a murderer. Because maybe that kept her safer. He would draw Jose and all the evil that tailed him away from her life, from Magnolia. The quiet little town that had put the horrors of this place to sleep and put it in discount fiction books.

' _You're a person. Just as deserving of love and kindness as anyone else.'_

Her voice, soft, kind, and melodic invaded his thoughts in such a way that it had him staggering back. _No I'm not._

' _Please don't go back out there, Gajeel. Stay.'_

Gajeel's thoughts clawed at the sugary falsehoods she had fed to him. He tried, oh he tried, to make them lies. To tell himself she never meant a word of it and that he may as well have imagined it.

' _I don't think you're a monster.'_

"LIAR!" He screamed into the cold air, dropping to his knees with both hands digging into his scalp. Gajeel hunched forward, his body shaking uncontrollably. "Damnit…" He croaked, voice breaking as a twinkle appearing on his cheek and dropped to the ground in front of him. "You're pathetic." The dragon scolded himself, before wiping hastily at his face. _How did I let one person do this to me? Is this what people call 'love?' Because god damn, I don't want it._ His thoughts spun, and he hissed through his clenched teeth.

His thoughts went back to her face, that smile, and instantly the agonizing warmth settled back into his chest. _I don't think I have a choice._

Movement caught his eye, and when he raised his gaze he saw the black cat sitting quietly, calmly in front of him. A small shred of ease came over him, and slowly he reached out to gently pat the top of Lily's head. "Hey." He said, softly. His sides heaved as he tried to calm himself, to bring himself back down. Lily waited, patiently, as he always did.

Minutes passed, and Gajeel released a heavy sigh that seemed to alleviate the majority of his tension. "I need to go away, Lil.'" Gajeel finally said, his voice weak, and hoarse. "And you can't come." The black cat tilted his head slightly, his tail swishing suddenly behind him. "I know but, I got something I need you to do. Can you do that?"

 _He's a fucking cat. Why am I even bothering._ Gajeel shook his head, trying to push his thoughts aside. Foolish as this was, he needed it. "Look out for her, will ya?" He finally said. "She's not…she doesn't need to be a part of any of this. She deserves better." The man directed his eyes downwards, "Try and make her house a little less empty."

As much as his volatility wanted him to reject her, to paint her like the others and discredit her words….there was no honest way that he could. Because she wasn't capable of any ill will. Even the accusation that had cut him so deep wasn't malicious. She was afraid, and she asked him a question that she deserved an answer for, given that she had opened her safe space to him. He was the one that was too violent, too irrational to be able to give her that answer. That no, he didn't do it. He didn't want anyone to die.

Levy had saved him, for a brief time. The short days he had known her, she bewitched him, body and soul. Her touch, her voice, her scent, every aspect of her he craved in a way that grounded him to earth and made him feel human again. But it was selfish of him to rely on her like that, to expect that from her. And the time had inevitably come where the reality of his condition, the life he had been condemned to, finally caught up. As he always knew it would. But at least with her, he could pretend to forget about it.

With that, Gajeel rose and reached up to adjust the scarf in his hair. To his surprise, his fingertips only met black locks. He looked around him, quickly, only to notice the fabric marred by the rubble he had created. Gajeel's first instinct was to pick it up, but he second guessed himself. If he left it there, it might be the message she needed, as much as he wanted to take it with him and cling to the sentiment.

There was another moment of hesitation, before Gajeel turned from the lobby, from Lily, and walked slowly out of the building. Outside, he looked up to the blackened sky, took a deep breath, and bounded off into the dark for good.


	13. Chapter 13

It had been two weeks since that night in her kitchen, and winter had continued to roll in with a vengeance. The first few days after the incident, she had been able to make her way out to the facility to keep looking for him, hoping with everything she had that one day she would find him there as she had before. Levy was relentlessly determined to find him, so much so that she considered fanning out her search, looking past the facility with the idea that he might have had some other shelter to hide in. But with weather as it was, she couldn't safely go farther.

She had tried, on one of the earlier days, to follow the service road that she had discovered when walking along the outer perimeter of the building. She wasn't surprised to find it; there needed to be a way to get to the place during its operation that wasn't through the trees. It was easier to walk on the buried pavement, but she lost signal on her cell phone after walking for about ten minutes. Not knowing where she was, or how the weather could turn, the lack of safe communication forced her to turn back.

There came a day, after a heavier snow, that she wasn't even able to make half the trek to the lab. It was more than a difficult moment, trying and wanting to push herself, but she had started to lose sensation in her fingers and up to her knees, and it did no one any good, least of all Gajeel, to be lost in the snow.

The following days when she was trapped between her home and work were excruciating. There was some solace to be found in visits from Lucy and adjusting to her sudden new pet(which was fun to explain to Lucy), but with no further sign of Gajeel and the cold trail left by the sinister scientist, there was little peace for the booky bluenette. She had read through the journals more times than she could count, but no more answers came to her. They had no real proof that anything was starting again, and she was too afraid of risking Gajeel's safety to go straight to Natsu's father for help before they had anything concrete.

At one point she finally had to force herself to stop, wondering if maybe this was truly something she needed to let go. _What do I do? What if he doesn't want to be found? And I need to just move on?_

Levy looked up from her book, nestled on the couch with Lily lying across the top, and frowned at her own weakness. The thought felt like a betrayal. More than the first that initially drove him away. That was not something she could live with. Call her a bleeding heart, but she couldn't just give up like that. Her conscience, nor her dreams, could ever let her.

When darkness crept in, and the lights extinguished for the evening, the dull ache set in. He made the house smaller, less quiet. And now, more than ever, the dark was more foreboding knowing there was a true beast out there that knew her face. The only comfort was closing her eyes and forcing herself into sleep.

Nightly she dreamt of him, and Levy couldn't settle on whether it was a gift or a a curse. It was usually the same thing, reliving that morning in her living room. The tenderness shared between them and the peaceful safety she felt next to him wasn't the worst thing to revisit. But waking up, cold and alone save for a black ball of fur at her feet, definitely was.

Then there were the dreams that reminded her of what she had done. The horrible thing she had said, the information she didn't give to him fast enough, the things she didn't say in time. They were all regrets that woke her feeling sick and with a dampness on her face.

 _I'm not giving up on him. He deserves more than that._ She thought to herself, looking up to Lily. He had opened his dark eyes to look calmly down at her, the tip of his tail swaying quietly. "I'm sure you miss him too." Levy said softly. The quiet stare persisted. "I'm going to get your friend back, Lily. Don't you worry." Levy put on a small smile, grateful for the live-in reminder of the mission she had set for herself.

A knock at the door roused her suddenly from her spot on the sofa, and she glanced at the time. The blunette brushed some hair from her face and set her book aside on the way to the door, "Just a moment!" She called, clicking open her locks and pulling the door open as a cold wind bit at her cheeks.

Levy felt the blood drain from her face when she saw the man on the other side of the door.

"Hello, Miss McGarden." A sickening smile spread on very sharp features, both hands clasped behind his back as he tilted his head. "I don't believe I need to introduce myself?"

Levy went cold, and her grip tightened on her door before she swung it with everything she had in his face. The man merely stopped it with his boot, and as she backed away from him with a look of horror on her face, he chuckled a little and took a step forward.

"Now now, we don't need to be rude." He tsked, wagging a chiding finger at her. "I am just looking for something of mine. Something I lost some time ago. Something I'm fairly certain you can help me find?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know who you are. You have the wrong house, and my parents are going to be home any minute." Levy said, tight-lipped.

"You can abandon the facade. I know all about you, and that you have nothing of the sort." Jose leaned forward a little and pressed a palm on the door, a shadow falling on his face. "You're going to tell me where he is." He commanded, threateningly.

" _Never_." With fiery determination on her face, she grabbed the hallway table and pulled it over as she sprinted back to her room. She slammed her door shut and locked it, looking frantically around the room. Finally, she grabbed a pen and one of the notebooks from the nightstand, opening it to the front cover. Crudely, she scribbled, ' _He found me'_ and shoved her insurance under her pillows.

The woman turned her attention to her window as her doorknob started to shake violently. "Miss McGarden! Please don't make this any more difficult than necessary." His voice called from the other side of the door, chilling her. She pulled her icy window open and desperately forced herself though, landing on her side in the snow outside. Being entirely unprepared for the conditions outside, the chill assaulted her. Levy scrambled to her feet, looking at the window behind her as she started to run.

The moment she turned her gaze forward, she slammed straight into a wall, knocking the wind out of herself. Levy stumbled backwards, blinking the stars from her eyes as she took in the short-haired male she had collided with. He gave her no time to make out who he was, before lashing out and striking the side of her neck, sending pain shooting through her. Everything went black, and the blunette collapsed into the snow.

* * *

Waves of nausea rocked her as light started to seep into her vision. It took a few minutes for the headache to manifest, swirling with her dizziness. A pained groan escaped past her lips as she lifted her head, and blinked to clear her vision. What she saw was surprisingly familiar. Debris, ruin, and the strong musty smell…she was in the lab. _Why am I here…? How?_ Levy tried to move her hand to clear the hair from her face, before realizing that she couldn't move either of her arms. It took a moment for understanding and panic to set in, and she yanked at the bonds behind her back.

"Careful dear, you'll hurt yourself." The sudden voice made her jump and swing her gaze to Jose, seated casually near her with a man she didn't recognize beside him. When she saw the short, jet black locks, she realized he must have been the one that knocked her out. A blank, distant stare was directed at the floor in front of him, his hands clasped in front of him.

"Why did you bring me here." Levy posed it, her tone low, as more of a demand than a question. She knew, quite surely, why she was here. But she wanted so badly to be wrong.

"Oh, Miss McGarden, I know you're smart enough to figure that out." He cooed, tilting his head a little with a smile. "But since you asked so very nicely, I suppose I can humor you with an answer." Jose waved a hand flippantly. "You're going to help me get back what I've lost."

Levy swallowed hard, having had her dread confirmed for her. "Why?"

Jose looked at her with light confusion, tilting his head. "Despite all I was able to take with me, I had to leave many important things behind when all of this was destroyed," He gestured at the room around them, "And you see, these things are all very valuable. I have put a lot of time and money into my studies, you see. It is very much against my best interests, and the interests of my clients, to let these things get away from me." His gaze turned back to the young man standing behind him. "So you can imagine my… _disappointment_ when he was the first to abandon ship." Levy's eyes widened slightly, taking a moment to process that information in particular. "I have to admit, I was certainly surprised to find that one of my star subjects, had taken to someone. A girl no less." He placed a fist under his chin. "Certainly makes getting him back to me _much_ easier." Jose shook with an amused laugh, leaning back in his seat a little. "It's a development I can work with."

"He, ran the day this was shut down?" Levy asked, slowly.

"Oh yes." Jose responded quickly, laughing again. "Although I will say it intrigues me that he came back here. Pitiful beast likely came to think of this as home." He pausing, thinking, "Right to the end, X777 was a _massive_ pain in my neck. He freed several of our subjects on his way out…poor things, released them right to slaughter."

The girl was suddenly filled with dread. "What did you…"

"We had no means of containing them at that time, and many of them had not completed the conditioning process." Jose paused, tilting his head and pointing to her, "You know about that, yes? Of course you do, considering all the information you stole from me. It's rude to read from someone's diary, you know." There was an ominous, sharp tone hiding under the playful scolding. "But what's done is done…as I was saying. They began to turn on us. He tried to stop them; fascinating, that was. But I suppose his cowardice won out and he fled soon after. Tragedy, having to euthanize so many. But we do what we must in science, and the Lacrima implants were retrieved successfully and the bodies were still of use at a later date. So truly, our losses were minimal." Jose looked up now to the man standing behind him. "How fortunate that there were those who remained loyal…With special encouragement that is. Isn't that right, X772?" Jose tapped his forehead with his finger, feigning as though remembering something. "Oh, yes, sorry. _Rogue._ He responds better when we use his name."

Levy's stomach sank, realizing now that the man behind him was one of the subjects. And more than that, one of the ones she had read about. The one they had written about pitting against Gajeel. But that information became secondary to the apparent additions to the death toll that day. "Minor loss?" She spat back at him, "You lost seven of your staff that day. On top of all the _people_ whose lives stole before you had even killed them!"

Jose jerked his head back a little and lifted his brows. "Yes? And?" The nonchalant answer was chilling. "They were perfectly replaceable, what's the problem?"

Slack-jawed and in shock, Levy felt sick. Utterly, and completely sick. Not only had the falsehood of her prior accusation against Gajeel been made clear and then some, but being in the presence of someone _so devoid_ of any humanity was more frightening than anything she had experienced in her life to date. That thin smile, constantly playing across those angular features made her stomach roil as a result. "You're unforgivable." She growled at him, only bringing a hearty laugh bouncing from his chest.

"Oh my dear, there is no place for forgiveness in my field." He rose from his seat now, strolling over to her. "Waste of time." Levy instinctively tried to scoot away from him, but his long legs closed the distance faster than she could do a thing. He squatted in front of her and took hold of her face with one hand, forcing her to maintain eye contact. "Now, I've indulged you enough. You should be grateful. It's time to get back to why we are here in the first place. I have places to be, Miss McGarden, so I'm afraid we will have to make this quick." He pulled her forward a little, lips curling into another sickening smile. "I know he has probably caught our scents already. It would seem that isn't enough." He pulled her forward a little. "Be a good girl and call him for me, will you? I know he can hear you. And if I have studied your _relationship_ with him well enough, he should be here in a jiffy."

Levy glared, stiffening herself to the consequences of what she was about to say, something that felt so foreign on her tongue, but her anger was more powerful.

"Go to hell."

A loud cackle echoed within the walls and Jose nearly fell backwards in his glee. "I was _so_ hoping you would say that!" He hollered, roughly releasing her face and standing straight again. "Welcome to the revised conditioning procedure, Miss!" He lifted one hand above him, and snapped his fingers.

The blunette could have sworn she heard a muttered apology immediately after, but it was overshadowed…literally, by the black wisps that had started to swirl around the quiet young man. The tendrils, as though living, snaked around his form, before diving to the floor and shooting straight for her.

Levy barely even had time to open her mouth when they raised back from the ground around her and wound around her body. _Shadows?! They're solid!_ She thought frantically as she was suddenly lifted from the floor. A firm pressure wrapped around her and the next thing she knew she was flying for the vaulted ceiling. Her back impacted, hard, and she couldn't stifle the cry that escaped her. The darkness held her there for a painful moment, before she was lowered just enough to shift her and hang her upside down. Levy coughed, trying to regain the breath that was knocked from her.

"Go on, Rogue. Like I told you. Make it convincing." Jose encouraged, clasping his hands once more behind his back. There was a moment of hesitation from the boy, and a flash of reluctance on his empty face, before he turned his head to the side.

The pressure on Levy suddenly disappeared, and the next thing she knew she was plummeting to the floor. The scream of terror was inevitable as she fell from a height that could very easily break bones. Her yelp when she stopped suddenly, a mere foot from the floor, was also uncontrollable. The pressure had manifested again, around her ankles, and she looked up to see the tendrils now holding her by the feet.

Every sound that flew from her mouth was agonizing, because she knew it was exactly what they wanted. Her thoughts begged for him to not hear her, for her to keep quiet, so he wouldn't come and fall right back into their trap. At the same time, her thoughts _screamed_ for him to help her. For anyone to help her. Because, oh god, she was _so afraid._

Tears burned in her eyes as she started to rise again, and the entire process, sans hitting the ceiling, repeated. Each time, try as she might, she couldn't stop the brief cries that came from her, nor the gut-wrenching grief with each repeated cycle, knowing that he either wouldn't come and she would be a toy at their mercy…or that he would. Sickness wracked her form and she shut her eyes tight to try and stop the dizziness that swirled in her head.

Her honey-colored eyes snapped open at the sound of a sudden crash, just as she was being lifted back up. The slow ascent sharply changed gears, yanking upwards much faster just as a dark blur flew under her and she felt a cold brush on her dangling fingertips, followed by another loud crash. The grip on her form tightened and she was suddenly changing direction, moving over towards Jose and Rogue. As she was turned to sit upright and held suspended near the two men, her eyes went wide in recognition of the grey figure in the orange evening light that filtered through the windows.

"Goodness. That took much longer than I expected, I had begun to think I overestimated your fascination in the girl." Jose cooed, an excited smile spreading on his face. He was positively giddy.

Gajeel pulled himself to his feet from the desk he had demolished on his way in. His entire form was covered in the iron scales, and there was a rage behind his scarlet eyes that was quite unlike any she had seen before. He hunched forward, flexing his hands and baring his claws as a booming growl echoed in the room around them. " _Jose_ …" He snarled, threatening, his eyes moving from the two men, before settling on the trembling, crying girl with them. _They're going to regret it. I'll make sure they regret ever fucking touching her._ "Let her go." He took one heavy step forward, the threat evident in every part of his body language and tone.

The fire burning in his chest, his blood drumming in his ears…these were all feelings he had never felt before. He remembered getting the tiniest taste of it the night he heard her screaming in the woods at the stupid coyote…but this, this was different. Levy was crying, she stunk of fear and salt, and he didn't know if she was hurt. Levy was in their clutches, dangled in front of him like bait, reduced to a tool and a plaything.

Gajeel wasn't stupid, he knew why she was here with them. He had smelled all three some time ago, and it had almost drawn him. The thought that Jose might find her had crossed his mind, but the fear, the hurt of their final interaction kept him away still. She was a trap. And Jose wouldn't dare be so bold to do anything else other than dangle her like a lure.

But then that shrill, terrible sound struck him straight through the heart. The first sound was painful, but they just kept coming, one after the other: she was _screaming_. The idea of her in trouble, being hurt, having god knows what done to her by the most monstrous man in his world, was unbearable. It wasn't even a question at that point, because all he could see in his thoughts was that blue-haired angel with her hand in his and trust in her eyes. The girl he had sworn, before he was even fully aware, to protect. The words she had spoken to him that night disappeared entirely from his memory, because it didn't matter at all anymore. No matter what she had said, he was going to find her, get her back into his arms, and never let her go again. For once he was going to do something right.

With that decision made, he was an unstoppable force on his way back to his personal hell. He was going to plunge into the flames of his purgatory for her. Everything around him was a blur until he locked eyes onto her, and watched her slip just barely out of his grasp.

"Now, Gajeel, I've waited a very long time for this, I want to savor this for a moment." Jose chuckled, shifting to stand closer to Rogue. He may have had the upper hand, but he had angered a very large, very strong beast. And he wasn't going to be careless.

"I ain't gonna repeat myself." Gajeel rumbled, " _You give her back to me."_


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter is a little violent, mentions of injury/blood etc. Shoutout to Amaranth121 and AyaEisen for helping me out with this one! :)**

* * *

A timid knock at the solid wooden door stirred the fiery redhead from the papers at his desk. He removed the glasses from his scruffed face and leaned forward on his elbows, "Come in." Igneel called tentatively, looking at his son from under his brow. It was uncommon for him to come here, and the visit had him both intrigued and concerned. The fire-haired officer smiled warmly at the boy as he stood before his desk. "Natsu? What brings you here?"

The boy wrung his hands together nervously, trying to settle on the best way to bring up the topic with his _very_ authoritative father. "Hey pops." His slow, uncertain tone tipped off that parental intuition, and Igneel lifted a brow.

"What did you do?" He asked, accusingly. Natsu bounced on his feet a little and smiled nervously first, but it didn't last on his face in light of his nerves. "Out with it, Natsu." His father ordered firmly.

 _Just say it, I'm wasting time._ The pink-haired boy thought, and he bit his lip, steeled himself to it, and spoke. "Does the name Jupiter Technology mean anything to you?"

The sharp-featured red-head stiffened suddenly, his gaze turning hard on the teen. "Natsu…I _know_ you're not trying to tell me, what I think you are." The man warned lowly.

Natsu swallowed hard and put on a nervous smirk, rubbing the back of his head. "Uh, well," His father shot him a stern, warning look. The kind of, 'don't bother lying' look. "Okay fine we went." The man rose to his feet suddenly and opened his mouth to lecture, but Natsu rushed to beat him to it, "I know I know, but look, dad, we got into something. We found something. Levy did, actually. And I think she's in some kind of trouble."

Igneel arched a skeptical brow, "Natsu, I'm not an idiot. I know about the urban legends you kids sparked up since that place closed down." There was a moment of pause, and a flash of concern finally slipped onto his face. "What kind of trouble? That's unlike her."

"Look, I know what this sounds like. And I know I'm in trouble for even going there, but Levy is missing. She only told us what she knew 'bout this place recently, after we went there that one night we thought we had put it to bed. But then she told us about this guy that she found there. And these powers he has because of some kind of experiments." Natsu spoke as quickly as he could, and the more he said, the darker his father's face became. "She told us about this guy named Jose that she saw in town, and I think he might have something to do with–"

"Who?" Igneel snapped suddenly, cutting the boy off.

Natsu blinked. "Jose?"

The name seemed to strike a blow on Igneel and he flinched. After a moment, he leaned forward, narrowing his eyes considerably. "How do you know that name?" His deep voice rumbled. The recognition was not the reaction that Natsu had expected, and for a moment too long he stared slack-jawed at his father. "Natsu!" Igneel snapped impatiently. "You need to tell me right now how you have any of this information. _Any of it._ This isn't a joke, Natsu, how do you know any of this?" Something else seemed to catch up him as the gears turned, processing the information. "Levy is _missing_? How long?"

"I don't know, at least a day." Natsu answered, his voice wavering as urgency settled onto his father's features. "Lucy said she saw her last night, and went over this afternoon and says she left behind her phone, her bag, everything." Natsu explained.

Igneel pinched the bridge of his nose, clenching his teeth. "Lucy knows too then." He cursed silently underneath his breath.

The boy swallowed hard, the next thing he wanted to say weighing heavily on him. "She found a note in Levy's room, 'Jose found me,' it said."

"Damn it." He turned from his son, stepping back to one of the many filing cabinets lined up behind his desk. "I thought we were done with this. That it had gone cold. To think he would be as brazen as to…"

"Dad?" Natsu called to him, "Dad, you know about all of this?"

"Of course I do." He barked back over his shoulder before resuming leafing through several folders. "Magnolia had a massive missing person's crisis years ago. It was one after the other, all of them were just barely legal adults and all of them had no connections: no family, few friends. It took forever for us to even get wind of their disappearances and it was usually through landlords. Who knows how many more we never heard about." Igneel's tone dropped slightly, "The disappearances stopped when the lab was destroyed and we found evidence that some of the missing people had been there, but none of them were actually found. It was the only solid connection we could make." Igneel finally seemed to find what he was looking or and pulled out a thick file and dropped it onto his desk. "I never wanted to touch this again." He muttered under his breath. "Levy may not have family but she still doesn't fully fit the bill of their usual targets." He mused, flipping open the manila folder and glancing up to his son, "You said she found someone in the facility?"

Natsu nodded, "The guy she found ran off around the time Jose showed up in town, so she was trying to track him down. She'd been taking care of him since we found him."

For a brief moment, Igneel smirked and laughed to himself. _Go figure._

"She brought a whole bunch of notebooks from the place a couple weeks ago, that's why she wanted to go originally when we went the first time. And she seemed to have an idea about what they did there."

"Then she knows things she shouldn't." Igneel stated ominously, "And she's gone ahead and got herself way more involved than she should be. From Porla's perspective she's the only link he has to valuable property. And she loosely matches up to just the type of person they used to target." Natsu tilted his head in questioning. "They were going to sell these experiments for a fortune, that's likely why we didn't find any of them after the close-out. That's not something they are going to let go easy."

Natsu swallowed hard, dread turning his stomach. "She's in more trouble than we thought."

"Much more." He responded lowly, paging through the file. "Her life's in danger and if we ever want to see her again we need to work fast." Natsu watched him move past several photos of men and women, presumably the people who had gone missing.

Igneel hummed a little. "When we were conducting the investigation, we found evidence of another facility they planned to relocate to, in Hargeon. Presumably for how easy it was to send and receive shipments. But none of the original staff could be traced there, nor did we find any evidence of illegal or even related activity, and none of the locals knew anything. The case was closed and went cold about a year ago. That's our best lead right now." He slammed the folder shut and tucked it under his arm as he marched across the room and pulled open his door. "I need to get some people on this. I'm not letting this slip away from us again." Catching sight of the sick worry on his son's face, Igneel placed a firm hand on his shoulder. "We're going to get her back. I'm going to do everything in my power."

* * *

The black wisps surrounding Levy pulled her back and set her onto the floor behind both Rogue and Jose. Though they released her, they continued to linger behind her, as a reminder that she was not freed in any sense. Levy swayed on her knees, but her attempt to remain upright failed as her disorientation forced her to her knees. She lifted her eyes slowly, her sides heaving with the breaths she hoped would settle her stomach, and poised her gaze onto Gajeel. Her heart broke, knowing that he had come. That he was here, and in so much danger.

When he moved his own gaze to her, Levy couldn't help but look to the side shamefully. Intentionally or not, she had just played a part in his downfall.

"Are ya fuckin deaf?" Gajeel growled, looking up to Jose and ultimately Rogue. "Why are you doing this?"

The other onyx-haired boy furrowed his brow. "It's what we are made to do." He responded flatly. "Obey."

Gajeel shifted his weight suddenly, a disgusted grimace falling onto his face. "You don't gotta do a damn thing he says. Ya could kill him just as easily as I can right now." The latter part of the sentence dropped a few tones, and like an animal ready to strike, he hunched forward and looked hungrily to Jose. His neck bare. His skull fragile. His chest crushable. The bloodlust boiled within him, his anger slowly slipping from his grasp.

"That is not what we do." There was a crack in his voice that set doubt within Gajeel, and he huffed heavily. "When we don't obey, we die. That's what you caused that day, three years ago. They died because of your insubordination."

Gajeel was taken aback, gritting his teeth. "You don't believe that."

"Now, boys!" Jose stepped in, moving just in front of Rogue to draw the attention back to himself. "You can run in these circles as much as you like, Gajeel. But I can assure you that the conditioned responses within Rogue, as well as all the surviving subjects _just waiting for your return,_ are flawless." He laughed to himself, gloating. "I have had a lot of time to sit on my mistakes and fix them, Gajeel. You will see just how much we have changed soon enough, and we will snuff out that _infuriating_ fire of yours one more time…"

"Never again." Gajeel hissed, as he looked one more time to Levy, who caught his gaze and held it. There was a look in her eye, a sudden determined furrowing of her brow held his sight for just a second, before he continued to speak. "I am done with that nightmare. You don't own me anymore. And I'm going to make you pay for _all of it._ "

As Gajeel talked, slowly and deliberately, Levy slowly shifted her feet under her, focusing on the chair that Jose had been sitting on. She held her breath, looking to her captors and waiting for them to answer him. "That's an admirable idea, however–"

Levy lurched to her feet, grabbing the chair with the firmest grip she could manage and immediately yanked it back. The piercing screech surprised both Jose and Rogue, but not as much as the surprise of the chair smacking Jose square in the back that sent him falling forward. Levy had tried to lift it, wanting to aim for his upper half, but the weight and rushed urgency of the last ditch effort didn't allow her for much precision. However, the break in their concentration, which resulted in the sudden dissipation of the dark binds around her, was all she needed. The blunette bolted, nearly tripping over her own feet, for Gajeel.

He rushed across the length of the lobby the moment the chair screeched and their attention broke from him. Immediately his attention went to Jose. His focus was broken, and so was Rogue's. He was wide open and Gajeel could be upon him in seconds. He could be dead, and it would be all over.

Blue and yellow intercepted his line of sight then, and he was reminded of the third party in the conflict. Beyond her he could see Rogue begin to recover, Jose shout something to him, and the focus fall back onto Levy. Everything shifted in that second, and there was a stagger in his step that slowed him down as his arms opened wide. Grabbing her slightly to the side, he spun on his feet to lessen the impact as he took her up into his arms.

He wanted to savor the moment, to savor having her in his arms. But there wasn't a second to waste, and he rose to the balls of his feet to leap backwards and put distance between them, just as Rogue's shadows crashed down where he had just been standing. Gajeel struggled for clarity as her scent, mixed with fear and salt, assaulted his senses. He needed to stay focused, now more than ever. Because killing Jose wasn't what came first. Getting her out of here was.

Rogue was winding up for another attack, and a sense of urgency was manifesting in Jose's face that indicated to Gajeel that the pace of the situation was about to change. "Trust me?" Gajeel muttered, and was answered by immediate and frantic nodding into his shoulder. "Hold on to me." He rumbled, and Levy nodded quickly as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She didn't need to be told twice. He shifted his grip to just hold her with one arm and narrowed his eyes at the two adversaries.

"I want them _both back!"_ Jose roared at Rogue, the order robbing all expression from his face as though it triggered something in him. With a roll in his shoulders, black markings started to appear on his face and what looked like black smoke started to fall in trickles from his fingertips.

 _Shit!_ Gajeel thought, tightening his grip on the small girl as he turned and ran, agonizing though it was. His free arm slammed obstacles from his way, acting as both a battering ram and a shield for the precious cargo in his arms. From the corners of his vision he could see the shadows in the room shift, slamming down a heavy step to dodge sideways mid-run as a shot of black pierced the ground next to him.

Both arms went back around her and he hunched slightly, vaulting himself straight through one of the large windows and into the snow outside. A surprised cry flew from her and wrenched his gut as they impacted the earth and rolled, but he didn't have the time to check on her. Only the fact he couldn't smell any blood. Gajeel flew back up to his feet and bounded across the facility yard, his eyes catching sight of something on the far end of the grounds: a vehicle at the back gate. _SHIT._ They had planned this out, they knew how they were doing this.

Gajeel had barely a second beyond that to react, catching a silhouette pursuing him on his left.

It veered sharply, and with a curse under his breath, Gajeel jumped, feeling a dangerous brush against his side midair. As he landed and slid to a stop, he turned to see Rogue standing there, several feet away from him. "Why are you _doing this?"_ Gajeel shouted to him, "You have to want him dead as much as I do, Rogue! You _know_ what he did to us!" He was answered first with a cold stare, a steady flexing and flexing of both of his shadowed hands.

"You are coming back." Rogue replied flatly. "Those are the orders." He flourished a hand upwards, swirling up his shadows threateningly. "To disobey is to suffer." He muttered then, swaying a little on his feet. "To disobey is to suffer."

Gajeel clenched his teeth, struggling between feeling sorry for the man or infuriated by his pathetic, brainwashed state. This was not the same level the others had been on the day that he broke them out. They were wild then, more like Gajeel was now. There was still a spark in them that only needed to be lit by the promise of freedom. A spark that only turned into lust for revenge as they turned their sights on everyone else. Their conditioning was easily overpowered by the chaos, but it was also what lead to their deaths.

This is not how Rogue was, here in front of him. He had such a clear chance to end everything, to end Jose. But he was so far gone, and so broken, that he had no more autonomy. And that was exactly what they wanted. He was exactly what they wanted, and it was like looking into a terrifying mirror...because that is exactly what Gajeel would become.

"You aren't gonna to get out of my way, are ya?" Gajeel finally asked, feeling Levy shift in his grip to look over her shoulder at the other male. The lack of answer, was the only answer he needed. Slowly, Gajeel set Levy down, and gently pushed her behind him. As a wordless 'Get back.' "Fine then." A toothy grin spread on the iron dragon's face and he tilted his head, feeling that unbridled excitement and thirst for violence rise in him, bringing a dark laughter with it. He wouldn't hold it back here. He could open those doors and let it rush forth, because it was the only way he was going to come out of this.

Levy backed away from her protector, just as he flew forward towards the shadow-wielder. Rogue rushed to meet him, and became a blur of flying fists. Snow flew around them, and Gajeel was the first to fall back from a connected hit. Relentless, Rogue took his opening to land a darkened fist under Gajeel's chin that sent him flying back into the snow with a grunt. He slid several feet on his back, and lifted his gaze just in time to see Rogue swipe his hand, bringing what looked like spears flying down upon him, threatening to run him straight through. With a grunt, Gajeel rolled to the side just in time to see them embed into the earth, then dissolve into thin wisps.

There wasn't a moment to rest, as Rogue descended upon him, a fist pulled back. He crossed his arms in front of him to block the blow with iron, "Nice, try!" He grunted, and in a scissor motion thrust both of his arms outward. The slight stagger back gave Gajeel the space to slam a kick into Rogue's chest and get him more distance between them.

He jumped to his feet and launched forward and catch Rogue in the stagger. Swinging wide, Gajeel landed a sideswipe on Rogue's face that would have catapulted him halfway across the yard. However, midair a swirling tendril flew out underneath him, breaking the fall and slowing him to a stop. It lifted him back upright, before slowly lowering him back to the ground to face Gajeel again. With the back of his hand, Rogue wiped the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. A dark, spiteful gaze fell on the man of iron, before he swept his arm in front of him. What looked like a blackened whip struck out, not towards Gajeel, but to the snow in front of him. It sent up a wave of ice and dirt directly into his face.

Gajeel held up his arms to shield his face, just as Rogue appeared in the air front of him twisted back to wind up a punch. He braced, but the image of the shadow user flickered as his eyes widened. _A fake?!_ Immediately after, he saw stars, then felt the burst of pain in the back of his head that lurched him forward. The after image in front of him flickered again, and a knee suddenly connected under his chin that launched him into the air. _He's fast!_

The iron dragon twisted midair, searching for his opponent. To his horror, he saw Rogue had turned his attention and advancement on Levy. "Don't you _dare!"_ He bellowed, throwing an arm downwards...that suddenly extended into an iron beam. Levy watched, in shock, as the beam impacted Rogue from above, sweeping outwards to drag him harshly through the snow and put substantial distance between he and her.

The beam retracted with a yank, and Gajeel landed into a run, placing himself in front of Levy. He threw her a glance to check that she was okay. Levy forced a smile, trying to reassure him. She had opened her mouth to say something to him, before her eyes went wide.

Black binds whirled up from Gajeel's shadow, gripping him and raising him up. Just as quickly as they had appeared, they slammed him back down into the snow with such immense force that it created a small crater. "Gajeel!" Levy shouted, scrambling backwards to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

"You cannot fight me while protecting her."

Rogue was upon him, face cast completely in darkness, and landed blow after blow against Gajeel, knocking him further and further into the dirt. The unrelenting onslaught twisted Levy's stomach as she brought her hands to her mouth to try and stifle a cry. Still, the tears started to fall. _He's going to kill him!_ She thought, watching as iron slowly gave way to bruised, bloody flesh. He had the up on Gajeel, and wasn't giving him a chance to even block.

She was going to lose him.

After all of this, she was going to lose him.

 _I can't. I've tried too hard, I can't!_ She thought desperately, feeling her chest tighten.

 _I won't lose you!_

"STOP!" With everything she had, the tiny woman threw her weight shoulder first into the side of his attacker. It was only by the grace of surprise that she was able to knock him a few feet, off of Gajeel. Levy tumbled into the snow herself, and as quickly as she could jumped back to her feet and spread her arms defensively.

Gajeel felt the blows suddenly stop, gasping for air as he turned his head to spit the rust from his mouth. He forced his eyes open, to see blue and yellow. _What...Levy?_

Rogue spun, snapping his dark gaze to whoever interfered. It didn't matter who it was, it mattered to win. To best the opponent. _I can't lose._

"You don't have to do thi-!" Levy's voice was cut, abruptly, by a small guttural noise, and something warm hit Gajeel's face. In slow motion, he watched her jerk backwards, stiffen, and stagger on her feet.

Red. He saw red. Red rivers running down her side, splashes of it in the snow.

The girl looked down at her shoulder, a trembling hand reached up to touch fingertips to the edge of the wound and then hold it in front of her face. _I'm bleeding, I..._ It took a moment for the pain to register, shooting outwards from the site and overwhelming every nerve. It was sharp, it burned, and then everything contracted. She wanted to double over but the pike in her shoulder kept her upright, so all she could do was writhe, as a scream ripped violently from her, a mixture of agony and panic.

Everything in him went cold at the sound, and the pain became secondary as he pulled himself to his feet and rushed for her. The thin black spear dissolved from her left shoulder, and without the support she started to fall.

" _LEVY!"_

In a half dive, half trip, Gajeel dropped to his knees and slid just in time to catch her before she hit the ground. It took him a few seconds to realize what just occurred, feeling dreadful warmth pool and trickle down his own arms. He looked desperately to Rogue, his expression begging him for an answer. The short-haired male only looked like he had just been smacked back to reality, looking from Gajeel to the girl, watching a stain of red spread in the snow around them.

He heard her whimper his name, and he felt bile rise in the back of his throat. Gajeel's gaze flew back down to the shaking girl, eyes frantic. Immediately he reached a hand to grip her shoulder, uselessly, and only brought out a sharp cry of pain that _killed_ him. She grasped desperately at his bloody hand, trying to free herself of the agony. "Shrimp!" He cried, desperate for any sort of reaction the name usually elicited. Nothing but ragged cries. "Levy, look at me will ya?" Gajeel urged, but pain forced her eyes shut. "Levy, _please..._ Stay with me! _" God damnit shrimp you can't leave me now!_

"Now you've gone and done it." Another voice brought a protective growl from Gajeel, who hunched over the whimpering girl. "I told you I wanted them both _alive_ Rogue. They're worth little to me dead."

Footsteps advanced from his side. There was a sudden sharp pain in Gajeel's upper arm, and he dropped forward, gripping her to him like a lifeline as his vision started to blur. The best he could he shielded his body over her, putting one arm out to steady himself. It was of little help as his limbs started to go numb, his gaze wavered back and forth, and the darkness advanced quickly. _I won't let you…I won't…_ The last thing he heard, torturously, was Jose's voice.

"Get them into the van. I want her alive. Her sway on him is far too great an asset…"


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This is a very choppy chapter. I really wanted to go for a lot of shifts of consciousness, since we were settling in Levy's POV for a while, which is very unstable and unreliable. Also, the "restraints" I describe are basically the "cuffs" that the Council used on people like Jellal.

* * *

 _Gajeel?_

 _Gajeel where are you?_

"Do I have to repeat myself? I said prepare a space in the infirmary. I have a subject incoming with an impale wound."

"A _what?!"_ A voice, rubbed raw with screams, gasped out. There was no answer.

 _Wait…_

 _Was that my voice?_

 _No, no, he can't be. I don't remember seeing him being…he was beaten into the dirt. I saw Rogue do that. I stopped it, I saved him, I—_

The woman's back arched reflexively, wanting to writhe, to thrash against restraints, trying to tear away the—

 _It_ _ **hurts!**_ _Oh god it hurts; what hurts!? I can't see anything, I don't remember—_

Standing, arms spread, shielding the broken man. Pleading for it to stop, and then it hit her. The spear running her straight through. And it happened, again and again and again. Each time it replayed in her thoughts another wave of pain shook her and she opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't tell if she even made a sound. She felt her lungs burn, her throat tighten, but only part of her was present.

 _ **LEVY!**_

 _Oh…I remember. I remember! That was_ _ **me!**_ _Someone, anyone, please! It_ _ **hurts**_ _! Gajeel, where are you?!_

She was set onto something solid, and she heard a thud next to her, then a slam. There was pressure put over her, holding her in place, and then everything started to shake. Was the ground shaking or was she?

 _Where are you taking me? Please, I want to go home. I want to see Gajeel, please leave us alone. Make this stop, please!_

She could feel a hard pressure on her shoulder, and at first it brought the stabbing, burning pain. The pain that made everything tighten and her jaw clench so tight she thought she might crack her teeth. It was unclear if the pain just became so constant that she couldn't feel it anymore, or if the pressure brought some relief, but the agony started to become like static, fading slowly.

 _Stay awake, stay awake, I need to…_

Was she even still awake to begin with? Could the state she was in be considered conscious? She could see, but her mind could not make any connections to the images and feelings around her. It was all secondary to pain. A pain that wrought devastating weakness and a blackness that chipped away at her consciousness. Like a hungry beast it took more of her, bit by bit.

 _Is this what dying feels like?_

* * *

"No sir, she has no family that we know of. She is acquainted with the chief's son, however."

Brown eyes opened slowly, gazing weakly around the sterile white room. The light was near blinding, bringing a painful pressure in her forehead.

"Minor. Igneel was unable to find us in the past."

 _Igneel? Natsu's dad?_ Levy turned her head slowly to the side, trying not to agitate anything. Her eyes focused on the door with the frosted glass window. Two silhouettes stood outside it, their voices muffled but intelligible through the door.

"You have given him reason to try again."

"He'll be hard pressed to get the clear from commissioner, what's-his-name, to open it back up. In a different county no less. Hargeon is a large city, my friend. And we have been meticulous. Six years is a long time to bring a plan to fruition. The destruction of our first station was merely a speedbump, and ultimately a catalyst to rush construction here." That sickening, confident voice overshadowed the other. "Now, is she stable?"

"Yes, sir. She lost a lot of blood, she'll need to rest for a few days but fluids and pain medications should pull her through. It's too early to say if she will be able to use that arm again without therapy."

 _I what?_ She thought, trying to turn her head. Instantly a wave of dizziness washed over her and she tensed, but only pain followed. The blunette grit her teeth and bit down on a cry, not wanting to tip off the men outside to her consciousness, however fleeting.

"Yes yes, that's all great but how soon until I can move her? Speak to her? I don't need her to be recovered, just coherent."

Levy's stomach twisted a little, the more the one voice spoke, the more her hazy, weak state of mind was able to catch up with who he was. And who had her.

The girl swept her eyes around the room again, confirming that she was alone, and that the room was bare save for medical equipment at her bedside, beeping softly. She inhaled deeply, trying to steady her nausea, and realized then that she had something on her face. With her left hand, she reached to her mouth shakily and felt the oxygen mask, before her arm fell weakly at her side again. An IV line was taped to the back of her hand. Levy craned her neck as best as she was able and saw the heavy bandaging around her injured shoulder, with her arm secured in a sling. Her head dropped back onto the pillow and she bit back another groan.

There was a heavy pause before the other male responded. "Tomorrow, likely. If she's in a wheelchair. You won't be able to run her around but she should be awake and aware."

"Good. I want her to know her purpose and place here as early as possible. Especially if a certain iron dragon were to catch on to our little fib. I need to be able to use her, quickly."

 _Gajeel!_ She could barely remember them taking him…or her for that matter. All she remembered was Rogue, running her through. The image flashed through her mind's eye harshly, her shoulder ached in response.

Levy couldn't fully process the state of her situation, but did her best to move through the facts, one by one. That was definitely Jose outside her door, and they definitely had Gajeel. But more frightening on top of that, was that in the years since the last facility's demise, Jupiter Technology had risen from the ashes elsewhere. No, it had already begun before the first incident. They had long ago planned to rebuild and do even more harm than she initially grasped. In Hargeon of all places, which was at the least two hour's drive from Magnolia. _So far from home._ She pressed her eyes shut tightly, trying to will away the pain that the medications could not.

It took a minute for her to realize she could no longer hear the voices outside. She started to feel her thoughts, along with her hope, slipping from her. This time, it was sleep beckoning her, rather than weakness. As the black closed in, she could clearly see a single face in her mind that only brought her a shred of solace, and a world of guilt.

* * *

"Natsu…what do we do if he says no?" Lucy whispered to the boy next to her, her eyes focused on the clasped hands in her lap.

"Dad's hard to say no to." He responded, voice just as hushed. "And even if he doesn't get the okay…you know he'll try anyway." A proud smile pulled at his lips.

"Will it be in time, though?" Lucy replied, squirming in her seat. "It's been two days now and there's no sign of her." The blonde's voice cracked, before she felt his arm over her shoulders and he pulled her into his side.

"We're gonna find her, Luce. One way or another. I promise." Natsu did his absolute best to sound confident, to reassure her. And judging by the slight relaxing of her shoulders, it seemed like it worked. They both knew full well it wouldn't be that easy, but neither of them needed to acknowledge it right now. For Levy's sake, they wouldn't allow themselves to be pessimistic.

A sudden thud and a raised voice brought their attention to the door to their right, the frosted glass only giving them a glimpse at movement within.

"The hell you mean you _can't_ , Makarov?" The fiery-haired man nearly bellowed at the stern-faced elder in front of him.

"I never said I couldn't, Igneel. Don't you raise your voice at me." The older man replied sternly. "Just not as quickly as you are asking me to. You _know_ we can't just warm such a high-profile case up this fast. There is a process. We need people, time, a review of the evidence. You are asking me to dig _all_ of this back up on a hunch, and to bring it to another jurisdiction no less. Because of something you think the kids found."

Igneel balled a fist and dropped it down on the commissioner's desk. "Are you listening to me at all? They _know_ _details from the case_. And a child is missing again, _sir_. It's the same thing all over again."

"It's coincidental, chief. You know it is. The information they know is entirely a product of their trespassing." Makarov replied, directing his eyes down to his desk apologetically. "You need to get a missing person's report filed, not reopen the case that got away. We all have them." There was a knowing edge to his words. "You aren't the only one that's lost something."

"Damnit old man, this isn't some issue of my pride. You're asking me to let go of the worst case Magnolia has seen in the last decade. I know damn well I'm not the only one. But you don't need to put your failures as a father on me." He growled, glaring heavily at the commissioner.

"Watch yourself, _boy_." Makarov bit out.

Igneel winced, realizing the hastiness of his words. But he couldn't stop now. "Our justice system failed every one of those _children_ , and now that I have reason to try again I wont let it fail them again. It's _Levy_ that's missing. The girl never gets into any trouble. She fits the bill, no parents or extended family. She's been missing for two days now, and she knew about Porla's research." He urged, trying to find some way to push his superior. "I am not letting this die on me again and I will not have another kid's life on my hands that I didn't try hard enough to find justice for. The longer we wait the greater the chance we never see her again." Igneel squared his shoulders, exuding a fiery determination that did not go unnoticed.

Makarov looked up to the chief, his eyes studying the hardened man's face for a few moments. Igneel would not back down, and did not waver under his superior's stare. It was not something the old man was unaccustomed to. The chief had a personality as combustible as his appearance would suggest. And when he fixated on something, he was not like to let it go. It was a quality he was slowly passing onto his son.

Finally, a defeated sigh deflated the dominant stature and Makarov hunched a little. "Alright." He said first, but seeing the expression of victory quickly rise in the red-head in front of him, Makarov raised a hand. "I want a full report on the evidence was have thus far, and I will need a testimony from your son. I'll authorize a _small_ detail to the old facility to see if there are any indications that Levy, or Porla, were there. I recommend Laharl. Before I even think of contacting anyone in Hargeon I need to know that we even have something solid to stand on. Clear?"

Igneel rested both hands on the desk with a grateful smile, pushing his weight forward before he rolled back on his feet to leave. "Crystal."

* * *

"Where are you taking me…" Her voice was flat and dry, eyes fixed on her lap. The floors were thankfully smooth for the most part, allowing the chair to roll without jostling her. The process of being pulled out of bed was uncomfortable enough, and the near full day of sleep hadn't done much for her headache.

"Dr. Porla wants you in the holding wing." The voice behind her answered, just as devoid of expression as she was.

Levy licked her lips, trying to fight the horrible cotton-mouth. "Holding?"

"Where the subjects are kept." He answered abruptly, a finality in his voice that told her he was done indulging her.

The girl went rigid and clenched her good fist, understanding turning into dread. _They're taking me to see him._ The realization hit hard, and her breath hitched. This wasn't going to be some casual bedside visit, there was a definite motive here and her thoughts returned to the conversation she overheard the day before.

Levy's gut dropped with the elevator as they descended two floors, terrified of what she might see at the bottom. She turned her head slightly, glancing at the man behind her from the corner of her eye. She didn't recognize him, but felt it pertinent to at least know his face.

There was a soft sliding noise as the doors opened in front of her, revealing a long, well-lit hall. On the left wall of the hall were what appeared to be multiple glass-faced doors, one after the other. As the man pushed her forward, the gap from the elevator to the floor jerked her shoulder painfully. Levy inhaled through her teeth, but kept her eyes open.

It wasn't until they passed by the first glass wall that she realized they were cells. And in that first cell, she saw the short-haired man: Rogue. The room was even smaller than the one she had in the infirmary, and all that was within it was a single cot upon which he was sat, head bowed motionlessly. The next cell held another male, much like Rogue in stature, with short blonde hair.

Levy swallowed hard, watching as they passed more of these cells, seeing primarily men. Most were in the same state of quiet obedience as Rogue. But the further they went—closer to the repulsive sight of Dr. Jose Porla at the end waiting for her—the more unrest she saw within. Rocking and pacing, the more restless individuals appeared to have earned additional restraint, the badge of honor for defiance it seemed. It was hard to make out, but it looked like it was meant to serve as handcuffs, however it was a solid, box-shaped item with a red, flashing light on the bottom.

"Miss McGarden, so good to see you on the mend." The very sound of his voice brought such a deep sense of loathing that she didn't even know she was capable of. The capacity to _hate_ someone with such vehemence was new to her. "I have something I am just _dying_ to show you." The mustached man jerked his gaze to the final cell in front of him as the individual behind her rolled her next to Jose and stopped her facing the cell.

It was dark, the ceiling light that the other cells were equipped with was smashed out. The glass, she could barely see, was scuffed and scraped. The cot was smashed and twisted into complete disrepair.

There was a faint, pulsing red light within the cell that only supplemented a small amount of ambient light from the hall. Each time it flashed she could see the outline of a large figure on its knees with its back to them. She brought her left hand to her mouth, feeling her eyes burn with tears she didn't know she still had.

Gajeel rhythmically lifted his arms and dropped them down, hitting the restraints on the floor with inaudible thuds, over and over. There was a slight sway to his posture, mindless and repetitive.

"What have you _done_ to him?" She wheezed, unable to tear her eyes away from him.

"Besides pumping him continually with sedatives?" Jose answered, a hint of precarious amusement in his voice. "I told him you were dead."

Levy nearly choked, her eyes flying to Jose, the hatred having given way to desperate pleading. A complete lack of comprehension for the utter depravity and lack of humanity that he wore like a badge of honor, with a cape of indifference. _"Why?"_

He looked at her, a brow raised as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. "To see if we could make him more pliable, of course." His tone was matter-of-fact in a way that turned her stomach. "He was in such a _rage_ yesterday when we got him here, after the first round of sedatives wore off." The man smiled, shaking his head, "Had he been a conditioned subject, it would have been such a magnificent power to control. He truly continues to be one of our best in terms of ability. Not in terms of will. Too much of that, he's got." Jose trailed off a little, looking back to the dragon in his cage. "But then I had the _brilliant_ idea to test your effect on him. Once I told him, it was like flipping a switch. It was spectacular. He went down like a rock." There was a sideways glance to the blunette. "You really have quite a hold on him."

Levy grimaced and her hands shook, but she had to force herself to talk. "Do you really think that glass will hold him?" She spat, deliberately raising her voice.

The researcher shook with a condescending laugh, bringing a palm to his face in insulting exasperation. "That is four inches of layered Lexan polycarbonate. He's not going anywhere. And he can't hear you either, so don't try."

Levy bit her lip, having been foiled so easily. She was grasping at straws and little more. "So then why am I here? If I am 'dead' what good am I to you?" The blunette asked, heavily dreading the answer to the question.

"Insurance." Jose answered simply. "Should that beast turn to that thirst for revenge I so _know_ him to be capable of, all I have to do is dangle you in front of him. It is abundantly clear to me that he will do anything for you, out of some poor, misguided emotional investment. And if it comes to that, I will suddenly be the man who brought you back to life, as well as the man who can take it away." The foreboding in his voice was not lost on her. "You are exactly the tailored conditioning tool I needed, Levy McGarden. Even when I thought I had truly molded him into the weapon we needed, he _still_ found a way to defy me. And I will _not_ be defied. Not this time. Not when I have worked so hard to expand this company." There was an edge to his words, and she could see him grip his hands together with white knuckles for several tense moments before he relaxed himself and rolled the tension off his shoulders. "Besides, do you really think I can let you walk, knowing what you do? With all that snooping you've done? You did this to yourself Miss McGarden.

"I have yet to decide if I want to make better use of you once I've sold him, so you are more than welcome to hold your breath on that. Know that if you try any heroics, you will make his life _considerably_ worse." He turned to fully face her, leaning forward to place both hands on either arm of her chair. "And I am sure you are not ignorant to how _hellish_ I can make things for him. So do be a dear and do as you're told. Quietly." His tone had dropped, threatening her. "Your life is in just as much his hands as he is in yours. To disobey is to suffer, child."

The words that Rogue had so methodically uttered struck her. "You're sick." Levy muttered, having lost the confidence she came in there with.

"I prefer brilliant." The proud man replied as he pulled back, standing straight. "We are going to have such an interesting dynamic here, Miss McGarden. I can see it." His eyes flicked up to the silent, shell of a man behind her. "We have learned from our mistakes, and we have built something even greater." A wistful smile, like that of a man who _truly_ believed he was doing something great, crossed his face.

"Now, enough of my talking. You need to rest. I'd _love_ to show you the training hall next. Although you already got a taste of it in the field." He smirked. "But I don't need you keeling over on me before I even get any return from you on the resources you're graciously being supplied…" With that, Jose gave her a taunting wave as she was turned away, her gaze falling on Gajeel last.

The broken shadow of the man that had tried so very hard to save them both from this. Her gaze lingered as long as it could, until he gave way to the rest of the line of poor souls, whose lives were in just as much ruin as Gajeel. Her heart bled for all of them, wondering if any of them had someone to care. If any of them had someone show them a kindness at any point. Or had they all broken so easily, because they had nothing?

* * *

 _Don't you know?_

 _She's dead._

 _She died right there, in your arms._

 _Lost too much blood._

 _He tore her up, fragile thing._

 _What a foolish decision to interfere._

 _You have nothing left to fight for._

 _Naïve boy._

 _Just give up._

 _I will make it all go away._

 _That's it, that's a good soldier._

 _Don't move, now._

Ruby eyes, dull like dying coals, turned slowly. Through the haze of the doors he saw the devil, standing, watching.

Waiting. There was a small stirring, the remnants of a former self that still felt revulsion for the man.

What did hatred matter now? What did any of it matter? He was right back where he started. And because of him, because of his delusions, he had her blood on his hands. It was entirely his fault, he couldn't even try to convince himself that it wasn't.

The last thing that he remembered was her screaming, shaking in his arms. He hadn't been able to escape the sound for a second since he awoke. It was the last memory he had of her and it was seared so profoundly into his mid that by not normal means would he ever be able to escape it. It was a sound, and an image, that would haunt him as long as he was…himself.

All at once, he didn't want to be Gajeel anymore. The monster outside his cell became less and less an object of fear and hatred, and more of a means of escape. An escape from anything that was left of himself.

That was a man that had taken everything from him, and it was a man that could take everything _of_ him. Everything that would perpetuate the agony he felt, the parts of him that knew, loved and remembered Levy McGarden could be taken so easily by Jose.

He relinquished himself to that. Welcomed it. There was nothing else left to do.

Turning back to face the wall, he pressed his forehead on the cold surface. Every one of his muscles tensed, a snarl contorted his face, and with one final expulsion of the last bit of strength he had, he roared into oblivion.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: I got over eager and couldn't resist powering through another chapter! (Mainly because the next chapters are going to take me a while). Enjoy, and thanks for reviewing!**

* * *

"Chief!" The young lieutenant's voice called out across the snow, echoing inside the building where Igneel found himself supervising. "Come see this!" The urgency in his voice brought the red-head outside quickly, trudging through the white fluff.

"What have you found, Laharl?" He rumbled, eyes scanning the area around them.

"Signs of a struggle." Laharl replied. He gestured with his hands at areas of the snow that were shallower than the rest, imprints that indicated a disturbance before fresh snowfall had begun to cover it. "If we had come here maybe a day later, we might not have noticed this at all, the new snow would have covered it." He explained, "From what I can see there is a definite trail from that window," Laharl pointed, then trailed his finger in the direction that followed the set of indentations, "To around here where it looks like the struggle took place. You can almost see the soil underneath in some places."

"Do you think it was the girl?" Igneel questioned. To his initial disappointment, his lieutenant shook his head.

"No. These are too large to have been her, based on her description. I'd wager these tracks are male by the size, and there are multiple sets." Laharl adjusted his glasses, glancing at the intrigued chief. "There was definitely more than one person here, I'd say no more than a day ago judging by the snow cover. They left in that direction," He pointed towards the back perimeter, with the open gate, "And the tracks turn to tire imprints."

A concerned scowl fell onto Igneel's features, and he crossed his arms. "Does any of this help us?"

There was a heavy pause from the younger man, before he stepped over to another area of snow that looked to have been freshly disturbed by him earlier. The red-head followed close behind, less than thrilled by the hesitation. "Depends how we're defining helpful." He gestured to a spot in the snow that stopped Igneel straight in his tracks.

There was a large, pink area in the ice. Around the discoloration seemed to be the epicenter of the disturbances in the snow, and where Laharl had moved the fresher powder, he could see the more distinct, deep crimson beneath.

"God damn it…" He hissed under his breath, running a weary hand through his red locks. Between the signs of struggle they had found in Levy's home, and now this…things were not looking good. In any respect. "Have you—"

Laharl held up a small, labeled glass vial, with watery red contents within. "Already done. The chill of the snow will have helped preserve the sample, we have a good chance of running it for a match. I've already taken photos of the scene as well."

Igneel nodded, at the very least proud of his officer's efficiency. He had to work hard to steady his breathing. _I can't let Natsu find this out._ He thought, only able to imagine the reaction from his equally fiery son. "Put a STAT on that sample, I want it processed as soon as possible. Make sure all of this," He waved to the area around them, "Finds its way into the report. The results as well. If we can match it to Levy or any of the missing people we have our case." A curt nod from Laharl ended the conversation, and Igneel turned from him to leave.

Even with the rush on the evidence, it would at least be a day or so until they got a match. And even more time after that to present and evaluate all of the evidence for the case. _We don't have that kind of time._ With the most chilling piece of the puzzle uncovered, the entire tone of the investigation had changed.

They were now walking a very fine line between a rescue, or a recovery mission. And he hoped with everything he had that it was former.

* * *

By her count, it was day three when he brought her up from bed rest again to show her the training hall he had mentioned the day before.

 _Is this an arena?_ Levy swallowed hard, looking down through the window at the large open space below.

"I want you to see his progress. What a difference another day can make." Levy didn't even bother to look at the man, remaining stiff in front of the window. "Among other things. But I needn't bother you with the technical details…"

At first glance, the room just appeared to be an open area. However, multiple compartments lining the walls, and a set of doors on each end hinted there was more to it. "I take it no one can see into this room, just out?" She asked, jaw tight.

"Of course."

 _He loves this. He's playing with me by showing this to me. He could just as easily lock me up and keep me away. Or worse, turn me into one of his subjects…_ She thought bitterly, her eyes sweeping the room around them briefly. Levy couldn't have been more powerless here, but it didn't stop her from studying her surroundings every chance she got.

Memorizing the way to every location, watching the fingers punching codes into every key-pad, and making note of each control system she could identify. The blunette was building a mental map, and marking the spots of interest along the way.

Levy was broken from her thoughts by a loud click, and watched the doors on either side of the room open slowly. From one door, a lithe man with blonde hair stepped through. She squinted to get a better look at him, noticing that the expression on his face was eerily similar to Rogue's. He had no restraints on his hands, but judging by the empty look on his face, it didn't seem like he needed it. A model, conditioned citizen.

"X773, our light user. One of my proudest conditioning results next to our dear Rogue. The two work quite well together actually, we were able to forge quite an interesting dynamic with them and their original conditioning process." Jose chimed in, but Levy's eyes were fixed on the other set of doors. She knew who was meant to come through, she wouldn't have been there otherwise. "He responds well to Sting." The blonde stood, composed, staring at the darkness beyond the other doorway.

Sure enough, a large figure slowly ambled out of the dark, feet dragging on the ground. The sight of him struck her cold to her core. Subconsciously, Levy stepped forward to see him better.

His hair was even wilder than it was when they met, concealing much of his face. His entire posture was that of submission, shoulders hunched and cuffed arms hanging limply in front of him. Gajeel stopped in the light, and the door slid shut behind him.

Levy's eyes shifted to Jose, watching him punch something into the pad by the window. A buzz followed, and suddenly the box-cuffs released from Gajeel, dropping to the floor.

"You're…fighting them?" Levy breathed, finally understanding the purpose of the setup, and connecting it to the 'trials' she had read in the journals.

"Testing them." Jose replied, "How else are we to keep them sharp, and show prospective buyers how their merchandise can perform in combat?"

"What if they refuse?" Levy's eyes focused on the motionless iron dragon.

"They _don't._ "

A loud buzz filled the room, and the blonde immediately put his hands out to his sides. It seemed that the noise signaled the beginning of the test, but Gajeel had yet to respond like he intended to participate. Not so much as a flinch with the overbearing nose.

There was a brief hesitation, before the other man rushed his opponent, closing the distance as a blur with hands glowing white.

Her stomach dropped when Gajeel flew to the side, impacting the side wall with such force she could hear the boom reverberate around them. He slumped to the floor, and showed no signs of getting back up. Sting cast his eyes in their direction, knowing he was being watched even if he could not see.

She could hear an annoyed growl from the scientist next to her, who reached for the same control pad and pressed a different key. "Continue!" He barked, and immediately the light-user whirled for Gajeel.

 _An intercom system? Must be one way unless he presses that button to speak._ Levy thought, before the next burst of movement drew her attention back to the room.

It was a sweep. Several minutes felt like hours as Sting thrashed a non-responsive Gajeel, throwing him back and forth across the room. At best he rolled once, and she could hear a deep, sickening groan of pain.

The tension from Jose only seemed to build, and he shot a sharp glance at Levy, looking at her in a way that implied he was trying to think of something. Looking back to the comm, he spoke into it again. "Enough!" The doors on either side of the room opened back up. "Place his restraints back on and proceed back into your hall." Sting, without hesitation, retrieved the apparatus and placed it back over the barely conscious man's hands. Grabbing him by the arm, he dragged him to the one set of open doors and tossed him within, before proceeding back to his own exit.

On day four and five, she was brought to the same place, to watch the same event unfold. Day four was Rogue. Several moments of hesitation did not go unnoticed by Levy nor Jose during that trial, but with shouted commands he ultimately did as he was told. Albeit, with a great deal less intensity than the previous battle with Gajeel.

Day five was Sting again. Both times the trial needed to be cut off after the iron dragon had been thoroughly beaten, and with the obedient subjects doing as they were told, throwing a limp and cuffed Gajeel back into the dark. At the end of his second match with Sting, Jose was in a near fury, pacing violently. He muttered something about deprivation and failures, and Levy took note of how easily he lost his proud composure when the world did not operate as he saw fit.

"The reintroduction to the treatments should not be _this_ debilitating. He should _at least_ have some residual responses from his past conditioning!" He turned his aggravation to Levy, "That useless animal has one last chance to get himself together before I 'bring you back to life' and put you in there with Rogue and let him watch. I will _not_ let this turn into wasted time and funds!" He snapped, causing her to back away from him with horrified understanding on her features. Beyond toying with her, his motive became clearer.

As long as he was using Gajeel, in any manner, he needed her on standby. Because she was his control on the iron dragon. Even if he had already exerted her effect on Gajeel, Jose had no plans on letting it stop there. If Gajeel lashed out and lost it, Jose could just use her at a moment's notice. If he continued to do anything but what the scientist wanted, Jose planned to _use her_. In whatever manner he needed to.

* * *

Day six began as the others, and a sleepless, nauseated Levy stood, staring at the doors of the arena. Jose's warning hung heavy on her, and every time she tried to close her eyes in the night, all she saw was Rogue and his weapons flying for her. The threat of her being exposed—completely unprotected this time—to that again was enough to keep her tossing through the night.

The familiar click and hiss of the releasing doors finally echoed around them, and she watched the dark exits anxiously. First, an auburn-haired man emerged into the area. Levy vaguely remembered seeing him when she was in the holding wing, and wondered why Jose would switch opponents on the last trial.

The blunette leaned forward with intrigue to look him over. It was hard to tell from the angle, but it seemed like he was _smiling_. One eye was forced shut by a thin, pink scar that ran down the side of his face He had the same hand restraints that Gajeel usually wore, and she wondered if this was another subject that had provided them with difficulty. Although at the moment, it did not seem that he had any intentions of being anywhere but there. Arms held in front of him, the man stared impatiently at the other open door, where his adversary had yet to appear from.

"X791. Our toxin user, though he seems to far more enjoy basic combat." He spoke up, "But more importantly, infuriating enough to make _me_ want to strike him. Another who shows great promise in ability but resists conditioning with gusto…if anyone is going to ignite our dear beast, it's him." Jose explained. "Calls himself Cobra."

Shortly after, Gajeel entered. The flesh that she could see was blossoming with purple bruises, and fresh scabs littered his skin. As the doors closed behind them, the researcher hit the same command that released the restraints as before, freeing both subjects.

The one-eyed man lifted his hands and rubbed his wrists, focusing on Gajeel. She could hear a chuckle through the speakers, surprised that he had made any sound at all with how silent Rogue and Sting had been.

"I'd _heard_ that you'd come back." The sly man called out to Gajeel, who seemed to flinch at the sound of another's voice. "How nice of you to join us. Here to fuck up our chances at freedom again?" Cobra tilted his head, a single violet eye scrutinizing the silent beast across from him. The lack of answer or even a reply of any kind brought a scowl to his face, and as the buzzer sounded, he rushed Gajeel with unbridled eagerness.

Levy watched with a painful sense of déjà vu as Gajeel shot back into the doors he had come through, and Cobra stood for just a brief moment with a knee raised from the kick. "Fight back." She could hear, watching him stride towards the slumped iron-user. He stood over Gajeel, reaching down to grab the front of his tattered shirt, lifting him off the ground with a strained heave and spinning him to put his back to the room. "Would you fight if I told you a secret?" Cobra tilted his head, ever so slightly. There was no response. "Pff. Suit yourself." He pulled back a fist. In another blur, Gajeel was flying back across the length of the room.

"He's not…" Levy had started to say, and an annoyed grumble answered her.

"He _will._ "

Cobra rolled his head, cracking his neck, and glared at the pathetic lump on the floor. "Fight back, damn it. Quit pouting and fight me! Coward!" He snarled, rushing again. "No wonder you couldn't protect her!" He threw a kick towards the side of the downed man, but his eye widened when an iron hand took hold of his ankle. Cobra's violet eyes met with blazing red ones, glowing in the shadow of his face. A sudden and involuntary chill shot through him.

A deep, guttural growl filled the room, and violently Cobra was yanked to the side and found himself impacting the wall for a change.

Cobra recovered quickly, and watched the iron beast slowly pull himself to his feet, remaining hunched and swaying gently on his feet. Gajeel looked like an animal, his posture and gaze completely feral. Iron scales spread quickly over his body, and his hands flexed threateningly as he tightened his previously loose posture in a stance, ready to strike. " _How do you know that?"_ He hissed, his voice reverberating in his chest.

"I hear everything." The poison user smirked, a dark miasma beginning to swirl around his hands.

Gajeel coiled and rushed forward at the same time as Cobra. The serpent dropped and slid at the last instant, dodging an overhead punch as he threw a maroon wave up at the dragon's chin. Gajeel flew straight upwards, however spun midair such that the balls of his feet hit the ceiling. He absorbed the impact, and shot straight back down at Cobra before he even had time to shift from the previous attack.

A cloud of the toxic miasma shrouded them both for a brief, but terrifying moment, before they both emerged. Gajeel was thrust back by what looked like a missile of the same type of cloud, with Cobra at its center. The dragon's back hit the wall once more, but without wasting a second, his arm lashed out to take Cobra by the throat and slam him outwards onto the wall next to him.

Gajeel released him, only long enough to spin and position himself back in front of Cobra and take him by the neck again. Effortlessly, he slid and lifted the panting snake up the wall by the suffocating grip and held him there, gradually tightening his grasp. His head _burned_ with the desire to destroy his opponent, thinking of nothing else but killing what threatened him. Not other coherent thought existed besides _winning_. Every sense was electrified with rage, and the "Enough!" over the intercom was only a tiny echo in the back of his tempestuous thoughts.

"Th-that secret!" Cobra coughed out, grasping uselessly at the iron arm that held him. His voice, literally strangled, wasn't loud enough to be picked up by the comm to the observation room. "Don't you—"

Gajeel barked a vicious snarl at Cobra, threatening him to shut up immediately. But the man continued to resist, coughing out words. ' _I said enough!'_ The voice called out again, unheeded.

"Damn it." Jose hissed under his breath. "This was the exact problem as…" The man shook his head, using different keys on the pad now, not seeming to be able to punch them fast enough to keep up with the subjects below.

A weak pulse of his miasma pushed against Gajeel, loosening his grip only enough for Cobra to slip out and drop back to the floor. The man lurched forward, taking Gajeel by the shoulders. "She's here, you idiot." He whispered quickly into Gajeel's ear, knowing they didn't have much time.

As Cobra leaned back, the dragon threw him a demanding look with some semblance of humanity returning to his features. The iron scales immediately gave way to flesh, his animalistic state quickly receding. He staggered slightly on his feet, sides heaving as the adrenaline left him quickly. "I hear _everything_."

At that moment, two of the small compartments in the wall on either side of the fighters opened. Levy watched what appeared to be two small barrels emerge and point abruptly to the two men. Two quiet shots and a sharp sudden pain brought the subjects to the floor. "Now, you better learn how to use _that_ again and get us out of here... You're not…the only one he stole someone from…" Cobra mumbled, feeling consciousness leave him quickly with the effects of the tranquilizers.

Before losing himself entirely, Gajeel turned his heavy eyes to the tinted window raised up on the wall above them. ' _She's here, you idiot.'_

It was thankfully an action whose intent was not caught by the researcher next to Levy. It couldn't have been. Because she knew her dragon. And that look…she felt to her core.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I really wanted to do a kinda immersive Gajeel POV in this chapter after listening to a song ("Let the River In" by Dotan) and I am very excited to get into the good stuff in the rest of the chapter! Enjoy! (i need to go to bed X_X)**

* * *

The blows are painful. He feels his back hit the walls and he feels their fists and kicks impact his body. It shoots pain throughout his frame each time, but it hardly seems like he's really the one feeling it. Gajeel feels like he's watching himself from the outside, watching himself be punished for what he caused. He's watching the shell of the man he thought had been given so much potential, destroyed further and further. Each time he's hit, his senses scream one sentiment to him: she's dead.

Levy is dead.

Of course it's his fault. Had he stayed away from her, she would have never been drawn into this. He should have known that Jose would return for him, that was inevitable from a man…no, a demon as voracious as he was. In any amount of time, at any time, Jose was bound to return.

But still, Gajeel couldn't resist himself around the blunette. His selfishness would not let him maintain his distance from her. His desire for her presence and his craving for the peace she brought him clouded every logical thought he had and she paid the price for it.

Every waking moment he is reminded of it. Every time he sees Jose's face, he is reminded of it. It is the exact reason why every time he is restrained and brought out for treatments that he welcomes them with empty compliance. Like fire the lacrima pulses power through him, and each time he is forced into a change, he can feel more of his self being chipped away.

His thoughts become fuzzy after each treatment, and after both Rogue and Sting thoroughly defeat him, he can feel himself slipping away more. Gajeel is losing his hold on himself, and it is only a matter of time until they achieve the feral, mindless soldier they want.

It is what he deserves, to lose himself. And it is the only way he can continue to exist knowing what he had been responsible for. Knowing who he couldn't protect. Watching her run through by Rogue over and over again. The memories of her screams become more muffled, and are a dull echo by the time he is thrown into the ring with Cobra.

The pain takes its toll on him again, and then something snaps. He can't remember what sets it off, and to be honest he can't remember anything. He can only feel, and comprehend the present. And what he feels is an overwhelming, carnal desire to destroy who attacks him. Who is it again? Does it matter?

"She's here, you idiot."

The words are more of a burning pulse than any of the lacrima treatments. As quickly as he snaps, he is tamed.

 _Levy._

As much as he worked to forget her, there she is. There is her blue hair and her warm eyes and her kind smile. She isn't screaming, she isn't dying, she's holding her hand out to him and calling him back from the darkness. She is calling his name, she is trying to pull her back to him.

She is here. She is alive.

Which means she is in danger. And that is redemption reincarnate. She is a rushing river flowing life back into his broken hull, making him whole again. It smashes the conditioned walls that had nearly completed sealing up what was left of him. It sweeps up the shreds left of him and weaves them back together.

He can't know if Erik is lying to him. That doesn't matter nearly as much as the prospect that she could truly be here.

But Erik isn't lying, Gajeel can feel it. He lifts his eyes to look to the grey glass that is a barrier between him and the spectators behind it.

She is alive.

Something in him stirs and he feels a burst of adrenaline. Like drums, his blood beats in his ears and Gajeel can feel himself returning.

Levy is alive.

A spark in his very soul tells him almost everything he needs to know. The plea from Erik reaches him, and he knows exactly what he must do, and exactly the conditions he needs for it. Before darkness engulfs his sight, he resolves himself to his final task, and the trigger he needs for it. _I'm coming for you._

* * *

The seventh day is exhausting. Levy no longer feels like she is being given a tour of the exhibitions here. Instead the blunette resolves herself quietly to the imprisonment that consists entirely of her usefulness to the researcher. The little backup plan on standby, the trump card to be revealed at a moment's notice to cripple her dragon once more. That's what she had been brought down to until she could think of something to get out of this. But her options were slim.

There was little Levy could do, still not knowing even the general direction of an exit, or even having the ability to make a run for one if she did. The blunette wasn't near healed yet and Jose had her under lock and key.

She didn't want to work herself up over the potentially insignificant occurrence the day before. There was no way Gajeel could have known she was there, but there was a deeper part of her that wholly felt he was looking directly at her. He couldn't possibly have been. But logic did nothing to shake that thought from her.

Jose remaining oblivious to it was a blessing, however the air as she stood in the observation room was still tense. He had gotten a small portion of what he wanted yesterday, but had still lost control of the situation in the end. They weren't what he wanted yet and she felt pretty strongly that if things went wrong again, she would be finding out a new aspect about her role.

What _would_ happen if he revealed Levy to Gajeel again? Would Gajeel even recognize her at this point? It had been seven days now at their mercy, beaten again and again in the arena and subject to who even knew what kind of experiments in the background.

Jose said nothing to her, a heavy scowl sitting on his features. His demeanor, the one of pride and manipulation, had seemed to have fallen away. The game had become a lot less fun for him, and it showed. Levy swallowed hard, shifting uncomfortably under the weight of the atmosphere.

Slowly, she moved her attention to the arena, waiting again for the competitors to appear. Levy tensed, and a dull ache resulted from her healing shoulder. The loud hiss of the releasing doors opened up on either side, and she waited for the men to enter.

Rogue appeared first, and Levy felt her stomach twist a little. She couldn't help but wonder about the purpose in putting Rogue against Gajeel again. Perhaps because Gajeel had started to comply in some way, Jose felt putting him against someone with the desired conditioning level would even him out. It might have been a conditioning process in of itself.

Gajeel finally stepped out of the dark, with far more composure to his stance than any of the days before. He had a heavy focus on his features, in great contrast to the emptiness that held that place previously.

Levy glanced to Jose, who also appeared to notice the change in Gajeel's stature. The fire was obvious, and from what she had read in his journals, Jose was more than familiar with it. He would be sure to recognize it straight away. Its resurgence was likely a source of either great uneasiness, or great frustration. But it was still far too early to recognize if it was a sign of disobedience, or if it heralded the transition into the specimen he was looking for.

The doors closed noisily behind the men, and Gajeel shifted slowly on his feet as the cuffs released form his wrists. With a shrug of his shoulders and a barely audible growl, the iron scales manifested across his beaten flesh. The iron covered the bruises and scabs, and armored him readily for the fight ahead. His breaths were deep and even, focused, and his eyes never left Rogue. It was a heavy gaze that perturbed even the heavily conditioned male across from him.

The wait for the starting buzz was nearly suffocating. She couldn't stop looking from Jose to Gajeel, an instinctive feeling growing within her that something was going to happen. Levy couldn't shake it, and the anxiety was enough to make her sick.

The sound finally cut the air, and as much as she expected both of them to rush at the same time, it was only Rogue that advanced. His shadows stormed around him violently, and Gajeel merely opened himself up to the oncoming attack. With a heavy boom, Rogue shouldered Gajeel into the wall behind him, and pained cough erupted from him.

With an outward swipe of his fist, he pushed Rogue back, but didn't move nearly fast enough to land any sort of significant hit. All it did was establish space again, and Gajeel merely side-stepped in a way that his back now faced the left wall of the room, a good amount of space behind him. And then he opened his guard again, beckoning Rogue to him with a cock of his head.

"What the _hell_ is he doing?" Jose growled under his breath. This wasn't the broken creature that had first stepped in here, but it also wasn't the fighting machine he had witnessed against Rogue. It was an indescribable grey area that didn't seem to have a purpose.

"Come on." Gajeel growled under his breath, and Rogue stared at him for a moment, before charging again. Once close enough, he cut a shadow-engulfed fist up at Gajeel's chin, launching the iron dragon up to hit the ceiling with another booming impact. There was a cry of pain, and gravity had only barely started to bring him back down before Rogue was midair to meet him, twisted from a kick that sent Gajeel back down to the ground. He hit on his side with such force that he bounced and hit the wall for a second impact.

Rogue wasted no time with his shadow tendrils, reaching out to wrap around Gajeel's ankles and drag him to throw the man over into another wall. The pain shot through him like before, and he could feel his chest tighten as the survival instincts began to rise in him. His focus shifted to the pain that set his senses ablaze, and could see the edges of his vision begin to blur. Gajeel clenched his teeth, a growl building within him as he pulled himself up to his feel again. _You're losing._ He thought to himself, focusing on what happens to him if he loses.

The feral rage was welling up within him and as the adrenaline began to course he knew exactly where he was headed. Rogue positioned to attack again, and with this piece in place, Gajeel suddenly whirled to the reflective window, and bellowed his last resort.

"SAY SOMETHING!"

Levy reacted instinctively, reflexively, without a second thought or single regard for the pain that the jolt of motion brought within her. She moved so quickly that Jose didn't even have a chance to react, and urgently pressed the same button she had seen Jose use multiple times before. Here was where being observant and a photographic memory came to good use.

"GAJEEL!" Her voice cried out, piercingly, over the intercom and echoed throughout the arena. Immediately following, agony erupted from her shoulder as Jose yanked her back by her injury.

"You stupid gi—!" Jose couldn't even finish his statement, a sudden roar filling room. He looked urgently to the arena below just in time to see Gajeel overcome Rogue. He had the shadow-user by the throat and pinned against the wall before Rogue even had a second to flinch, but Gajeel merely held him there. Her voice was the spark to the gasoline that pushed him over the edge upon which he already teetered.

Gajeel's eyes glossed over, glowing, and he arched his back to puff out his chest. The iron dragon inhaled sharply, and much to Rogue's surprise, and Jose's horror, the shadows were drawn into Gajeel's maw. A tangible aura began to manifest around him, and Rogue went pale-faced with the realization of what he was trying to do. "You can't!" He gasped in a moment of reason, but it did nothing to stop the rush of shadows into the dragon.

In a sharp jerk backwards, Gajeel stepped back several feet towards the center of the room, a dark sheen over his iron scales as the shadows now swirled around him as well. He swayed steadily from side to side, a wide grin curled on his features that bared his fangs. A chuckle started to shake his chest and the dark vortex around him picked up speed, lifting his black locks to fan out menacingly.

His head rolled back on his shoulder, focusing his darkened, tilted gaze on the observation window. The laughter jumped to a fever pitch and he lifted a single finger to point in the direction of the unseen watchers. " _Jose~!"_ Gajeel bellowed threateningly, just before noticing the compartments begin to open up along the walls of the arena.

He wasted no time inhaling deeply, the shadows becoming violent, as his chest and cheeks puffed. Both fists clenched at his sides and he arched back, turning his attention directly up to one of the several ventilation shafts above them. A rumble, and then a high-pitched screech filled the air, as a blast of black and gold launched upward from Gajeel, striking the vent directly. A series of rapid crashes and booms immediately followed with a flash of flame, before all the lights cut out.

Levy barely had the time to see the blast as she was pulled, kicking and screaming, from the room. "Stop your squirming and get moving!" Jose barked, voice shaking with panic. The halls were lit only with the red pulses of the fire alarms, but Jose seemed to move with a purpose. Every door previously sealed shut now sat wide open, and she could barely distinguish Jose's muttering about backups failing. Something about the level of damage.

Both nearly lost their footing when another explosion rocked the facility, and a heat pressed at their backs as roofing and debris fell from above and littered the walkways. A roar followed closely behind the destruction, and Jose put a jump to their pace, ignoring Levy's cries of pain. Her shoulder was unbearable, and she could feel the warmth of a reopened wound spreading down her arm.

Jose turned a sharp corner, stopping in front of an elevator without thinking. "Damnit!" He hissed at the lifeless machine, tightening his grip on her to keep moving. Another boom came, this time from far under their feet, and Levy had an idea of the location, confirmed by the sharp curse from Jose. "That insolent-!" He shouted, "I will not have this happen again, I will not lose everything again!" He bellowed, looking back to Levy quickly as they navigated the halls. "You! You are going to stop him!"

With a sharp rush of determination, Levy yanked suddenly enough from Jose to slip from his grasp. "The hell I am!" She stumbled backwards, eyes starting around her frantically for anything that could help her. A third explosion from below dropped more debris, and Jose followed her gaze to a dislodged piece of piping. Both lurched for the item, Levy doing her best to push past the pain and reach it first. Her hands scrambled for the pipe, and she clumsily swept it upwards at the man as she fell onto her good side. The blow glanced off the side of his face, enough for him to lose his balance with a curse of pain.

Levy scrambled to her feet, pipe in hand, and made a run for it, trying to get as far as she could before he was able to regain his bearings. The blunette only know how to get down to holding, and up to the infirmary, but neither of these options served her when there was no power for the elevators. The best she could do was run until she found stairs, or any other helpful landmark. But with the alarms blaring in her ears and the building beginning to crumble around them, this was not something she had the luxury of taking time to figure out. _Gajeel, I need to find you!_

With the pipe in her right hand, she took her left to try and apply painful pressure to her wound, feeling warmth stick to her palm _Not good._ She thought, staggering slightly on her feet. Levy whipped around another corner, seeing another long open hall, identical to the last. She could have been going in circles for all she knew, a thought that brought a sense of dread with regards to the man she was trying to gain distance from.

The red alarm light dimmed, putting her into the momentary darkness. Either it was her panic or her heightened sense of awareness, but Levy could swear the darkness between the pulses lasted longer than before. For a moment, she thought maybe the power to the alarms might have died as well, but the blaring continued.

Then there was a heaviness in the air, and the hairs on her neck stood up, alerting her to another presence. Levy stopped dead in her tracks, and when the red light finally illuminated the path in front of her again, she found her instincts to be correct.

Her lungs deflated in a defeated, desperate huff, grip tightening on her very useless weapon in comparison to who blocked her path.

"Rogue…"

* * *

"Sir!" The panicked, sudden cry from Laharl brought Igneel's attention up from the vehicle he was about to enter. Immediately after the shout, what sounded like the rumble of thunder followed.

Urgently, the chief looked to his lieutenant, then followed the direction of his point. A massive stack of black, acrid smoke rose from somewhere farther within Hargeon, where they had only arrived and begun to canvas not an hour ago. In one sense, it was a gift, as their search thus far had yielded no answers to the location of the new facility. In fact the locals were more likely to walk in the other direction, feigning frightened ignorance, than give them a moment of time for questioning. The smokestack was assuredly the marker for their destination.

On the other hand, their situation had just become far more dire. "Move it! I want all our available units and the Hargeon department converged on that spot, now! That's our place, Laharl!" Igneel bellowed, entering his cruiser and slamming the door shut behind him. _God damnit, I can't have this fail after coming this far, I can't fail them!_


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Oh man guys, here we are. I know there are a lot of expectations for this chapter and I hope it is everything you hoped for! Special thanks to Amaranth121 for helping me with this one! Please review!**

* * *

Cold and dark, unrelenting. The dragon did his best to refrain from senses, they only slowed him down. The pain was constant, sharpening in intervals that shot down his throat and into his chest. The adrenaline did well to keep him moving through it, the corners of his vision blurred to only leave the dead center in focus. Looking only forward. Gajeel wheezed heavily, and slumped against a wall. His head rolled back and he tried to take a deeper breath, to steady himself. He gathered the scent of smoke, metal, and the other subjects.

This power was draining, and it was starting to wear away at him. He needed to act quickly if he planned on coming out of this with her. The roars would take their toll later when his drive wore off, but for now he was riding the rage, and it kept him going forward.

Gajeel's stunt had knocked out the power so spectacularly, sending explosions through the ventilation shafts of half the facility, that it subsequently opened every cell in the facility. The sounds of chaos slowly building below was all he needed to know that they had made their choices, just as they had done before. There was a sudden chill, and he felt his hair prickle and stand up with static. A small smirk tugged at his lips, before a chill of a different kind settled over him.

The smell of rust, iron, and fear.

The shadows that accompanied him whipped, and his teeth grit painfully. Gajeel heaved off the wall and his glazed eyes focused behind him. What he found was an annoyance, an obstacle to what he desperately needed to find. It took them long enough to react, but he knew how this went from the first time. And Gajeel was more now than he was then.

With a snarl he stomped towards the armed, but definitely fearful men that were somehow supposed to stop or kill him. Neither was going to happen, as he swung an arm, slashing out his shadows to slam the small group all at once into the wall with such force that they crumpled to useless heaps on the floor.

Gajeel swung his fist into the wall, to calm himself, and calm the desire to do more than knock them out. The beast in his thoughts raged, bellowed, and demanded more control than it was being afforded. He hunched forward, hissing through his teeth as the shadows wrapped around him.

He took another sniff, and bolted down the hall, trying to keep a hold on the scent amidst everything else. _I can't be too late. There's no way._

A blast of hot air hit him from a split pipe above, and as he barreled around a corner, another scent crossed over. Gajeel violently bit out a snarl and slammed extra force into his steps. His gut twisted, and he balled his fists, shadowed iron scales all but prickling over his skin, _Rogue!_

The scent of the shadow user mingled with _hers_ , and the emotions he felt all blurred together. He was terrified, furious, desperate. Was she dead? Rogue had already nearly killed her once, and Gajeel had only just gotten her back, in a way. He couldn't have her torn away a single time more or he might not survive.

Gajeel slid around another corner, forced to come to a halt to avoid something bursting up from the floor below. His arms lifted to shield his face from debris, and peered through the dust cloud to see sparks of gold within. Yellow eyes swung to fix on him, glowing through the dark.

* * *

"Rogue…" Levy gasped, her body slumping with defeat. She was so tired. So very tired, and the life draining from her right shoulder weighed her down and started pulling the fight she had left with it. She could deal with Jose. Jose was only human and too proud for his own good. But this, _him…_

Still, Levy fell back a step, and he advanced. But it was tentative, and his face was different. It was frightened, his breaths were fast and uneven, and his eyes constantly flicked away from her to check their surroundings.

"Don't run." He said firmly, but she could hear some semblance of _self_ in his tone. It wasn't blank as it had been before.

Levy's instincts still forced her back, and as if in response to his presence, a sharp pain ignited in her shoulder. Rogue finally moved forward quickly, closing the distance between them and took hold of her good shoulder. Levy went stiff, a pleading on her face directed up at the man.

"My brother," Rogue finally said, a waver in his voice that stopped her with widened eyes. "I need to find my brother, before they…before I lose myself again." Rogue trailed off and Levy realized what they were. They were still humans. They were people, who had lives torn away from them. And they had those they cared about. "I can't…I can't, if I see Jose I'll…" Rogue shut his eyes suddenly and backed away from her quickly, shaking his head. "I need my brother."

Levy understood then. He barely had a grasp on himself, conditioning of that level was not going to be removed in an hour. However, without the presence of the one that controlled him, and with the possibility of getting something important, it allowed him to break through, just enough. "They've kept you from him?" Levy finally asked.

Rogue nodded slowly. "For the conditioning. Sting, is his name I think."

Her eyes widened, and she finally reached full understanding. _The light user!_ She thought.

"X777…Gajeel, I can take you to him. He's the one the conditioning never reached. He's our way out." Rogue added, surprising the blunette. "He's yours, right?" The ambiguity of the question took her a moment, but knowing who else was in the halls hunting either of them, she nodded. The male inhaled, and turned to look behind him, wordlessly indicating their direction.

Having no other option, she moved to follow him. "This floor has the arena, as well as the research labs. The floor below us is holding…above is the infirmary and offices." Rogue thought aloud, trying to remember the layout the best he could.

Levy opened her mouth to speak, when a shattering boom echoed beneath them, knocking her off her feet. Cracks shot up the walls around them, and the flashing alarm lights suddenly became blindingly bright. She could see Rogue whip around with wide eyes and look as though he had picked up a scent in the air, but it was hard to tell. The hairs on the back of her neck prickled, and with a loud snap the panic lights died and the alarm silenced. The only sound left was the steady rumble of the struggling structure, with shouts and slams echoing from somewhere around them.

With her sight robbed from her, Levy felt her heart begin to race and the urgency of the situation settled on her again. "Rogue?" She called into the dark, but nothing answered her. Levy pulled herself to her feet painfully and took a few steps forward, reaching blindly into the dark. "Rogue?" Levy called a little louder, flinching when another explosion rattled the ground beneath her feet.

Her first thought was that he had fled, and the next thought was that if he had run...

Levy moved backwards a few steps, whirling with the pipe in her hand to the darkness behind her. She looked in every direction, tying to follow the noises to figure out which way the halls faced, but her senses failed her. The fear started to build again, and she did her best to swallow it down, trying to shake the burning sensation from her eyes. Because now was _not_ the time.

The blunette steeled herself in the dark, held her pipe out in front of her, and started to walk. Once it hit the wall, she was able to turn and use that as a guide. The sounds in the facility were becoming more and more terrible, and the uneasy prickle on her neck wouldn't go away. It was desperate enough to think she could get out of here when she could see, but now that there was nothing to aide her, it seemed all but hopeless.

"JOSE!"

The roar bellowed through the halls, and her heart leapt into her throat. It echoed all around her, and she couldn't pinpoint where it even came from. She knew that voice. She would know that voice anywhere. It was distant, and after a moment she picked a direction and kept her hand on the wall to guide her and move as quickly as she could.

The sound of something, akin to breaking through a wall, followed.

* * *

Gajeel's fist trembled, shaking off pieces of debris from the destruction to his right. The white light, originating from Sting's fist, fell upon him, and also illuminated the slimy, terrible man whose skull was still infuriatingly intact. He had lost Rogue's scent as quickly as he had found it, but Levy's was still very much present. He could pick up traces with Jose's scent. These two, however, had found their way into his path.

Jose turned, and the look on his face, in any other situation, would have been overwhelmingly satisfying. The color was gone from his features, and he was a deer in headlights looking over his shoulder at the man in the entryway to the large open room. His hands were poised over a mess of papers on the desk, light provided by the blank-faced blonde that had faced Gajeel multiple times in the arena. The walls of the room were lined with multiple fume hoods, and Gajeel could only guess that this was the hub of their ongoing research.

"God damnit, Sting, what the hell are you doing!" Gajeel hissed, but the words fell on deaf ears. There was a flicker in Sting's eyes, but nothing much more.

"G-G-Gajeel," The previous confidence, the assuredness of a man who had the upper hand, was gone. His voice cracked, his hands shook, and his eyes constantly moved from Gajeel to Sting. "I am sure there is s-something we can—"

"Where is she?" Gajeel rumbled, his question punctuated with another explosion elsewhere in the facility.

Jose's mouth hung open uselessly, and the lack of answer didn't sit well with Gajeel. He tensed and straightened a bit, his shadows swirling right up about him. He started to growl, but it turned into a gargle and he coughed harshly, his shadows flickering away for just a moment. He staggered, but regained himself quickly. Still, the scientist inched behind Sting, the desperation on his face giving himself away to the fact that, not only did he not have Levy, but he was grasping at straws. Sting tensed in response and held his glowing hands in front of him defensively.

Jose forced a small laugh, "You can't keep that up. And _she_ wouldn't want you to be this way, would she? She had so much to say about what she _thought_ you could be." He feigned as much confidence as he could. But even then it was meager.

"She's not here." Gajeel replied, just as a form emerged behind him, matching and even exceeding his bulk. Yellow sparks flew off the man's body, and the scientist's horror was palpable.

"Y-Y-Y-You!" Jose nearly fell backwards, clutching his research to his chest as though it would somehow provide salvation. "S-Sting! Eliminate him! I ORDER you!" The man shouted, and the light user raised his hands, white light growing around his fists.

Sting leaned forward to follow his orders, but Gajeel was already rushing forward and moving faster than the light user had seen him before. The shadows were a violent storm around the iron beast that struck fear into the conditioned heart of the man in front of him. A look of surprise broke the composed visage, and with a yelp Jose staggered backwards as a flash of white signaled their collision. Sting slid backwards several feet, eyes wide, and Gajeel sported steaming forearms from where the bright attack had last minute countered him and broke the onslaught. A frustrated snarl spread on his face, and Sting was just winding up to return the assault when he stopped abruptly. His light flickered, and his eyes went wide with more emotion than Gajeel had seen on the man's face…ever.

Slowly, his gaze moved to the side of the room, where movement had also caught Gajeel's attention. The scent followed, and his initial instinct was to fight, to go after him. The reality, the true significance of the scene hit him immediately after, and Gajeel fixed his eyes back on Sting.

"Rogue?" Sting spoke, his voice dry and hoarse from lack of use. "Brother?"

The shadow user emerged into the ambient light, and without an ounce of hesitation Sting left Jose's protection. Awareness lit his features, accompanied by the yearning of someone who had just regained something long lost.

With this development, a smile spread on Gajeel's dark face, and a laugh finally shook him, growing slowly. "You got nothin' left." Jose was shaking visibly, and turned as though planning to leave from the doorway on the opposite side of the room.

"I thought I heard something goin' on here." Cobra's voice emerged from the dark, and Jose nearly tripped over his feet, backing away instinctively to gain distance from Cobra…which only put him closer to Gajeel and the sparking behemoth next to him. "How interesting."

"You all will _listen_ to me! There will be consequences for your disobedience!" Jose cried out, sputtered even. He was hunched over the precious data held close to him, his gaze whipping back and forth between all the subjects.

"I also think I heard all your staff fleeing the building. Guess we just aren't worth it." Cobra added, smirking. "No one is helping you this time, rat. And you will pay for everything… everyone you took away from us. All of us."

Jose looked to Cobra blocking one exit, then to the twins standing side by side with eyes fixed accusingly on him. Finally, his gaze settled on Gajeel, and the only subject more frightening and unstable than X777: Laxus.

Gajeel's gradual signs of weakness brought no solace for the scientist, and he could only watch uselessly as both he and the lightning dragon approached Jose. Gajeel threw a glance to Sting, and with the wordless exchange, his white light disappeared. All that remained was the occasional flash of gold off Laxus.

Before Jose realized what was happening, something wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground. The man choked out pitiful sounds of protest, and in the flashes of gold, he saw the face of the iron beast mere inches from his. "We're gonna destroy all of it." Gajeel growled, barely audible. "The data, the papers, and you with it. _No one will remember you, or your work._ " Jose choked, trying to speak, but the grip was too tight. "I could snap your neck, or crush your skull," An iron hand grasped the top of the scientist's head, squeezing painfully. Enough to agonize the man, but not enough to break the bone. "But that's all too quick. For all you did to her…for even fucking touching her. For takin' her away from me, for hurting her, frightening her, using her…I could strangle you with your own guts." The grip suddenly released from Jose's neck and he fell to the floor as Gajeel stepped back away from terrified man. "But you're right." He finally added, breathing heavily with something gargling his breaths. "Levy wouldn't want _me_ to."

Electricity buzzed in their ears, as Laxus moved forward to take Gajeel's place. "Fortunately…there's a line." The man finally spoke. Bright golden light filled the room, illuminating the man's scarred, chiseled face. The electricity flew off of him in waves, and the structure felt the effects. The lights in the ceiling came to life again, growing brighter and brighter until each bulb shattered one after the other, raining down glass upon the scientist who tried futilely to scoot away from the assailant. Another boom nearby in the building inched Gajeel back towards the exit, but he needed to see this. He needed to know it was done.

"Remember the conditioning…?" Laxus rumbled, his voice like thunder. "Every time you had them dose us? Every time you nearly killed us?" Another heavy step in advance brought a terrified jump from Jose. He looked pleadingly to the twins, his final hope for any semblance of their conditioning to save him. Instead, the two watched with narrowed eyes, remaining close to one another, using each other to fight their conditioning. In his attempts to keep moving away from the prolonged terror, he was finally stopped by the hard resting of a foot on his shoulder. From the corner of his eyes, he could see the toxin user, leering down at him.

"Remember the people you used to control us? The people you killed even after _promising_ us they would be safe? If we only obeyed?" Erik hissed, a grimace on his face speaking of his own loss, "You couldn't resist trying to make her like me, could you?" His tone dropped, miasma beginning to seep from his palms. "This is for them."

Another pulse of the electricity signaled the end of the game. Gajeel watched the scream rise, the view of the devil obstructed by the two subjects and the flash of Laxus's lightning. The smell that came next, of rust and iron and char, was unmistakable. And it was the last thing he needed before he could leave.

* * *

Smoke had started to fill the halls, and each distant blast made it harder for her to stay on her feet. The weakness was very real by this point, and she had tried to pull on her bandages to keep them tight on her wound. It helped a little, but not enough to make a difference.

Still, Levy kept close to the wall, using it as her guide in the dark. She had found nothing, and no one. And since hearing Gajeel's voice, there had been what seemed to be electricity in the air, even lighting up the halls again briefly before the lamps all blew out permanently. All it did was worsen her dread, and her urgency to find a way out, to find anything.

The sense of being trapped worsened with each minute, and as the smoke began to burn her throat, she could feel her resolve beginning to waver. _No, I need to find him. I need to know he's alright._ Levy thought, pushing herself onwards. As she progressed, and turned several corners, she started to see a light grow in the halls.

She squinted, and turning one more corner she could actually see around, her eyes widened at the sight. A massive, burnt hole in the floor of the hallway with a diameter wide enough that it spread into the adjacent rooms the walls would have otherwise concealed. The destruction continued upwards, and through the opened ceiling she could see the floor above them, and ultimately the source of her light. The red-black smoke funneled up, putting a damper of the skylight, but there was still enough that she could see somewhat.

A billow of smoke suddenly grew from below, heat pushing her back just slightly. She shut her eyes and put a hand over her mouth, trying to keep out the smoke, but the coughs wracked her regardless. The pain followed, and she wavered on her feet.

Levy couldn't say what prompted her to look up again, but across the opening, on the other side of the hall, she could see something through the smoke. Were it not toxic, she would have gasped. Instead her eyes widened and fixed the silhouette of the shadowed creature hunched forward, focused on her.

Levy didn't know what else the lab had conjured up, what other subjects had been released, but the man she could see through the smoke was nothing but intimidating. She shook, a wave of fear washing over her. Which subsequently brought enough of a sway to her stance that she lost her balance. There was a shout that rose above everything else that made her aware of just what was happening, and her eyes met only with the open maw of the ground in front of her.

The blunette had only just begun to feel gravity pull her, when a dark blur appeared in her line of sight and she was pulled back in the other direction. Her eyes went wide as she was drawn into something solid. Levy inhaled quickly in surprise, and smelled the strong scent of metal mixed with the smoke. Iron to be precise. Realization hit, and she all at once knew who it was.

The welling of emotions, the burning of tears all rushed forth at once, and the arms around her held her securely. "Ga-jeel…!" She coughed out, pressing her face into his chest. He was here, he had her, and as far as Levy was concerned she was safe. This level of safety was something she hadn't felt since that morning in her living room, holding his hand.

Over the ambient noise, Levy could hear him mumbling something to himself, and she felt him bury his face into her hair and breathe deep. After a moment, she could make out his words.

"You're alive, you're alive, you're alive…" Over and over, making sure it was real.

The smell of her blood assaulted his senses, and reluctantly he held her back to look at her. The source of her bleeding was obvious and the sight made him sick.

Levy also had the chance to look him over, understanding now why she didn't recognize him, and that it must have had something to do with what he had done in the arena before all the chaos began. "You're…" She started to say, unsure of the words she wanted.

Immediately he faltered, guilt taking over his face. He had frightened her. She was afraid of him and he had seen it through the smoke before she had begun to fall. It was a look on her face that brought back the worst in him, that reminded him that he was still a monster, and even worse now than he had been before. All shadows, fangs, claws, and an animal's demeanor to make him whole.

The thoughts were written plainly on his face, and Levy couldn't take it. She didn't know how many more chances they had, or what would happen next. She didn't know what state she would be in if they got out, and with the weakness she felt creeping through her, she couldn't waste a second more.

"I love you." The blunette blurted, urgently, terrified of losing her chance.

The shadows fell away from him and his black mane dropped to drape over his shoulders once again. His body remained like iron, but his face was now more recognizable with desperate and pleading red eyes fixed upon her. He was stunned. The words, clear and unambiguous, blunt and straightforward, were undeniable. He couldn't seek another meaning, he couldn't say he had heard her wrong. Levy had very clearly, very firmly, just told him she loved him. That ethereal, beautiful, wonderful creature, even in her state, had told him she loved him.

 _Him_. Of all the people in the world she could have chosen to say that to, she said it to _him._ Gajeel Redfox. The monster in the dark, the dragon in the cave. He was none of those things to her and she loved him.

His body moved on its own, his hands reached up, and he took hold of her face. He remembered the night in her kitchen, when he had almost done this once before. Before everything had gotten so messed up, so confused.

The words caught in his throat, but he didn't need them. Without a second more of hesitation, he closed the space between them and felt his lips press against hers. Levy's hand balled up in the front of his shirt, pulling him to her receptively. He could feel every part of him, every dark, torn piece of the man he was, become new. Each movement of his lips on hers brought a rush and a heat to his chest that was completely unfamiliar, but wholly welcome. He wouldn't question himself, he wouldn't question any part of it. She loved him, and dear _god_ he loved her. Unequivocally. Completely, consumingly, he was in love with her. He had been from the beginning, and he was finally allowing that to be true.

He felt her push against him, and her grip suddenly drop from his shirt. His eyes snapped open at the change in her breathing, just in time to feel her falling from him. Immediately his arms went around her waist, trying to prop her up and hold her to him.

"Levy!" Gajeel pleaded, but there was no response. "No way, Shrimp! You can't pull this shit now, not after all this!" He shouted, adjusting her in his arms to carry her bridal style. Gajeel looked down to the fragile creature in his arms. She was breathing, that was what mattered.

He raised his gaze to the hole in the ceiling, urgency falling onto his features.

* * *

Outside was chaos, a mixture of both Hargeon officers and the handful of his own that had come to the site. The entire group worked furiously to control the crowds, as well as receive panicked staff as they exited the building. Every explosion from within and accompanying blast of heat forced them farther and farther back from the facility, and the smoke had begun to obscure much of their view of the facility.

Entering Jupiter Technology was out of the question, as even the trained firemen deemed it too dangerous to enter, and chose instead to manage the destruction as best they could from outside.

Waiting, searching every face that managed to find their way outside was agonizing for the chief. He had never in his life felt so useless, and knowing that there were still innocent people inside was torture. Every time someone else showed up, to be ushered away with someone to both question them and evaluate their injuries, he felt his stomach sink more and more. Every one of these people were lab personnel.

Until a different silhouette appeared from the smoke, labored and steady. This one wasn't alone, and was carrying someone else.

A sea breeze brushed the smoke from their visage, and a flash of blue sent Igneel's heart into overtime. "Levy!" He bellowed, immediately rushing towards the two despite protests from other officers, hand resting instinctively on the gun at his belt. He knew for a fact that was her, but the iron-colored 'man' carrying her, he didn't recognize.

He slid to a halt and unclipped the holster holding his weapon, threatening to pull it from his side. _What is he?!_ He thought. "Hand over the girl!" Igneel ordered, his tone absolute and cutting clear through the sounds of chaos.

The man carrying her slowly lifted his gaze from his cargo, scanning the uniform before meeting the eyes of the chief. _The police…_ He thought weakly.

Slowly, the iron scales began to recede from his skin, leaving Igneel to only watch in distracted awe for several moments. The man of iron, slowly, became just a man. Black char stained his form, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. But even with this, Igneel recognized that face. He had seen it many times before in the case files. _Gajeel Redfox_. One of the subjects, one of the people who had gone missing all those years ago was here in front of him. But still, he had a hold on a very unconscious Levy, and he couldn't be sure if this man was to be trusted.

"I said hand her over!" Igneel finally caught back up to himself, and ordered for the final time. He was surprised to find an answer in the form of a small smile, one of relief on the man's face.

Gajeel's knees finally buckled and he fell to the ground, keeping his grip secure on the blunette. "Take her….she's hurt." He finally said with a hoarse voice, bringing a look of surprise to the chief's face. Finally Igneel saw the red staining her shoulder, and understood. He released his hold on his weapon and immediately rushed to Gajeel, who carefully held the girl out to him. "Help her." He pleaded weakly.

"You both need medical attention." Igneel pointed out, taking Levy as carefully as he could to hold her in the same manner. "Come on, we need to get you both looked at."

Astonishingly, Gajeel shook his head, and staggered back up to his feet with a gargled cough. "The others." He finally said, focusing on Levy. She was outside, she was safe. The nightmare was over for her. "They're still inside and I…" He trailed off, seeing the realization and immediate defiance appearing on Igneel's face. Gajeel couldn't say another word more, or Igneel would get in his way. He could hear the chief shouting at his back, but with Levy in his arms, he couldn't do anything to stop Gajeel from disappearing back inside.


	19. Chapter 19

_Levy could feel her lips moving, trying to speak. There was a moment, a period of mutters and mumbles and incoherent whispers before she finally understood her own voice. "Where is he?" It felt detached, like an echo in the back of her head. There was a muttered response, and she felt a small pressure on her face and the earth underneath her move. "Where is he?" Again, her voice cut a little more clearly through the haze._

 _Her hands reached for her face, feeling something foreign, and started to pull at it. "No, miss." Another sound, barely understandable, moved her hands and reapplied to the gentle pressure around her mouth. "You need it."_

" _Get it off." Levy finally coughed, her throat felt sore, her voice hoarse. She tried to open her eyes, but her vision was blurred and they burned in protest when exposed to the air. "Get it off of me, I need—I need Gajeel." The blunette continued to struggle, until she felt a grip on her wrists holding her down. Panic started to well in her chest, unsure of what was happening, but she hadn't the strength to fight. Her body felt heavy, and the longer she was awake, the more she felt a continuous pain in her shoulder._

 _She gave up, suddenly, realizing that the pain had started to get worse. Her thoughts were only barely catching up to her, but she still couldn't decipher where she was. The last she remembered, she was inside, with Gajeel. And now she was in another vehicle, restrained, and he was nowhere to be found. A heavy dread constricted her heart, but the exhaustion washed over her soon after._

* * *

"Please state your full name." The stone-faced officer, speaking in an even tone, broke the silence without lifting his gaze from his papers.

"Levy McGarden."

Nearly a full 24 hours had passed since the incident in Hargeon. Levy's memory of the last several hours was patchy, and filled with black spots, but what she knew of the present was that she was back in Magnolia. The man in front of her, before introducing himself and moving into his brief investigation, had explained that she was stabilized in Hargeon, and then transferred back here because it was her county of residence and she had been confirmed to not be a subject, only a missing person.

"And can you tell me, as concisely as possible, how you came to be at Jupiter Technologies?" Levy winced, but stoic as ever, he was poised with his pen.

"I was taken, ah, a little over a week ago I think." She answered.

"Against your will? And if so by whom?"

"Yes." Levy answered, her tone sharp regardless of the hoarseness in her voice. "By its founder, Dr. Jose Porla." She paused, averting her gaze, and the silence was weighted.

"No one else?"

"Yes. One of the subjects. But he was also acting against his will." Levy replied quickly, edging in a defense for the brainwashed subject that had unwilling assisted him.

"How did you come about your injuries?"

Well, so much for defending him. That was a damning answer. And she couldn't lie. Levy was a terrible liar. "The subject assisting him gave them to me. Before they took me. But only because I had gotten between him and Gajeel."

"Gajeel Redfox was another one of the subjects, correct?"

She swallowed hard. His tone was impossible to read and gave little away as for where the questioning was going. "Yes. He was also taken against his will, with me."

"I see."

And then silence. He scratched away at his papers, flipping through the stack, and scowling every now and then. Levy shifted impatiently, thankful for the comfortable hospital bed and the _very_ strong painkillers that left her with far more comfort than she had at Jupiter's infirmary.

"Excuse me, but where are the others? And when can I go home? Or have visitors?"

"The subjects are being held and questioned in Hargeon. The doctor wanted to observe you for another day but you can have visitors by the end of the day. Is there family you would like us to contact?" He tried to push some compassion into his tone, that was clear from his words, but the rehearsed script and semi-robotic tone told her that this was just protocol and she was a task on a list that needed to be crossed off.

"No family. I have a friend, Lucy Heartfilia, who is my emergency contact." Levy replied, seeing him shift to put away his papers and mark the end of the brief session. "Wait, sir, please. Why are the others still in Hargeon and what is going to happen to them? Do you know what has happened to Gajeel? Or a boy named Rogue?"

"I cannot divulge that, miss. They are connected to damages within the city must be questioned in that county."

" _Please_ , can't you give me any more than that? What's going to happen to them? How did I get out? Are they all still alive? Anything." The blunette pleaded, her voice cracking as water began to well in her big, brown eyes. The officer wavered, finally making eye contact with her. "At least let me speak to Igneel if you can't tell me anything. He is my friend's father, I know him personally. _Please._ "

The officer released a heavy sigh, expressing clear tension in his shoulders. Levy realized then how stressful the day must have been for the police as well, dealing with a situation of this magnitude. However, the break in his stony expression told her that her little name drop was beneficial. "As of my last update from the team there, they're alive. The one that brought you outside—Gajeel I believe—went back into the wreckage, and came out again with the remaining subjects and convinced the receiving line to lower their weapons. He was in severe need of medical attention but wouldn't let anyone take him until he was sure the others were taken for treatment first. They are being questioned and treated there before making further arrangements. That's all I can tell you, I will have the nurses contact Miss Heartfilia." With that, he was out the door before she could accost him with any more questions.

She had some answers, but it only raised an even greater number of questions. 'Last he heard' they were still alive. Gajeel was apparently in bad shape, and she found herself with very little comfort with the new information. How hurt was he? When would she be able to contact him, and would any of them be allowed to come home? Levy found herself then, suddenly, with the inevitable dread that it was possible she might not ever see him again.

* * *

"Not too hard, not too—oof!" Levy winced when the sobbing blonde threw herself onto her, clutching to the girl as though she might disappear again at any second. The nurse had brought her out in a wheelchair into the lobby, to meet her waiting friends.

"I was _so_ _worried,_ Lev! Where do you get off getting' involved in some conspiracy crap out of a science fiction movie and making me think you're _dead?!_ " The blonde cried, barely taking a breath to hysterically scold her friend.

"I'msorryLucybutyou'rehurtingme!" The blunette coughed, throwing her gaze to Natsu standing just behind her, " _Help?_ "

Natsu laughed, trying to conceal his own overwhelming relief, and grabbed Lucy by the shoulders to pull her back. "Let's not kill her, Luce." He warned, trying to remain even-toned around the worked-up blonde. "You saw her last night."

Lucy finally released the struggling blunette, and turned angry, watery eyes to rose-haired boy. "And you think that's enough time to _get over it?_ " She threw back at him. "The way things have gone for all I know she could have disappeared again overnight."

"I'm home, Lucy." Levy offered weakly, the dark circles under her eyes telling of the exhaustion that had yet to release its hold on her. "Well, almost. Could we please just go? I miss my bed."

" _Everyone_ has been asking for you, we've all been worried sick."

"I know." It was all she could think to say, eyes fixed on her lap. There was something else in her tone that drew Lucy's attention, and she raised a curious brow at her. The blonde wanted to ask questions, she wanted to know more, but Levy didn't have the energy for it, and bringing her thoughts back to what she saw and experienced _there_ was enough to set her heart into palpitations. She looked up to her friend and shook her head slowly, trying to indicate to her friend that _later, I will tell you later. I can't do it now, it's too soon._ Lucy gave a curt nod, and moved behind her chair to wheel her outside to their car.

"Natsu," Levy spoke up again, "Have you heard anything from your dad? Is he back yet?"

The boy frowned apologetically, "No." He answered solemnly. "I've tried to get updates from him when I can, but he's pretty swamped there. All he's said is they are still working on getting information and figuring out what to do next." Natsu's tone told of his own concerns for his father, and Levy felt comforted in the fact that she was not the only one wrought with unease. "I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything new though." He added, as some consolation, while opening the door to the front seat of his car.

Levy nodded her thanks, and with their help hauled herself into the seat. She could feel the effects of her medications and the stress she had been through the second she tried to stand, and happily fell into the seat of the car. _Almost home…_ She thought, unsure just how eager she was to return to an empty home where her thoughts would only consume her. It was some comfort to know that Lucy would undoubtedly spend the night, but the blonde could not offer her the answers or peace that Levy needed most now.

Levy's eyes moved to the scratches and scuffs on her front door after they had finally returned. Seeming to follow her gaze, Lucy spoke up. "We tried to clean up a little, after." It was a small offering, but uneasy. It told only of her own turmoil, having to find the scene in the way that she did. "I found the kibble you must have been feeding that cat too." _Lily._ The black cat returned to her memory swiftly, and she felt a heavy guilt for the feline having been left alone for so long. "I saw him a couple of times, but he only seemed to want to eat the food I left out, and then he would go outside for the day."

The blunette could think of nothing to say as her friend opened the door for her and she stepped inside of the very cold house. Her gaze was drawn to the hallway table, askew in only a way that she would notice. The items that had previously been on top of it were rearranged, with a ceramic bowl, and her flower vase, absent. _Of course._ She thought, remembering with a cold chill how violently she had turned it over behind her.

With an offered arm from both Lucy and Natsu, she ambled as evenly as she could, trying to keep away the lightheadedness. "Your room, right?" Natsu asked, and Levy paused for a moment. She looked to the hall, the one she vividly remembered running down, and shook her head.

"Actually, I'd rather be in my parent's room." She could see Natsu and Lucy exchange glances, but they were not going to ask her why. It was appreciated, because Levy didn't feel she would be able to articulate why. She knew why, she could understand her feelings, but there couldn't be the right words to explain that she couldn't be in her room because that's where she had been cornered that day. To explain that even though the Master bedroom had been empty for years, it was still comforting in a way as her _parent's_ room. And that was just where she needed to go.

 _And then what?_ Where did she go from here? She had been so violently, and abruptly plucked from this world and thrown into another. She had been closed off, isolated and imprisoned. And as suddenly as it had happened, now she was back in her familiar space.

Levy had expected to feel at least a little relief, and some kind of ease. But in some way, she felt like she didn't belong back here yet. She had seen too much, and experienced too much, too quickly to just jump right back in. Her thoughts circled back around, over and over, to her dragon. It stoked a continuous ache in her chest, and she half expected to see him there in her living room, waiting for her.

It was most like an out of body experience, and she was grateful for the intermittent throb in her shoulder to remind her that she was actually here, alive and awake. There was no feeling of belonging here, but there was no feeling of belonging anywhere. Still, falling a sleep in a bed that she used to seek out as a little girl for comfort provided her with some small peace.

The first update came three days later. Natsu had rushed over as soon as he was out of work, finding Lucy there as well. The blonde had been exclusively staying with Levy since her return, leaving only for work.

"It's the commissioner's grandson." He blurted, out of breath.

Levy, bundled on the couch, had set aside her book when Lucy went to let the boy inside. "Makarov's?" She echoed, confused what he had to do with anything. Levy knew little of the situation with Makarov's family as it was understandably a private issue. From what Natsu had told her in the past, his son left some time ago and had excommunicated himself, leaving the grandson behind. Makarov raised the boy himself like a son, but eventually he left as well. Natsu had told her there was some kind of argument, and the boy kept getting into trouble with the police before Makarov told him to leave.

"Yes," Natsu breathed, "Laxus. He was one of the subjects they've been questioning in Hargeon."

Levy's eyes widened in shock, but Lucy beat her to asking, "How?"

Natsu shook his head, "I don't have all the details, there's only so much pops can tell me. But apparently he's been there almost as long as you said Gajeel was. That's where he went when Makarov kicked him out and he just thought Laxus had cut him off like Ivan did, so he was never consdered part of disappearances back then."

"Where is he now?" Levy pushed, hoping it would lead to information about the other subjects…one in particular.

"He just got in this morning, they released him because he has family here. They sent him home to be with Makarov."

"That's it? They're just going to send them home and be done with it?" She asked, incredulous. Those men had been through literal hell; there was no way they could just be thrown back into society. She was having a hard enough time having been there over a week, she couldn't imagine it after _years._

"I don't know everything, but my dad said they were going to try and get them set up in some kind of halfway program, to get them back home in Magnolia. Laxus is only at an advantage because he already has a place to go here, but dad mentioned setting up housing in the Fairy Hills apartment complex and getting them help once they're back. Nothing is set though." He explained.

"How's Makarov?" Lucy piped in.

"First time I've ever seen the old man cry." Natsu answered with a small smile.

The information was something, and it provided a little bit of hope. She opened her mouth to ask the question she was dying to ask, but Natsu already answered her with a frown and a shake of his head.

"He's still not awake. But he's alive, they just don't want to move him until he's stronger. Pops wanted me to tell you that much."

Levy nodded a half-hearted thank you to Natsu, and turned her gaze to the floor. Again, it was something. But it was still not what she was hoping for.

Every day that passed after was as quiet as the first, with winter in full swing and Levy confined to the house to heal. They did get easier, if only a little. Her shoulder got better bit by bit, and Lily never left her side throughout. Levy told herself it was because of the cold outside and the constant food she provided him with, but she couldn't help feeling that the scarred little tomcat missed the dragon as much as she did.

Natsu had come by periodically to give her more updates as he got them from Igneel, and most of them consisted of updates on their conditions. The hardest part was getting them to participate in the questionings. Trying to work around the conditioning, to speak to them as people and not as brainwashed tools, was an obstacle. It was a process of gaining their trust, and ultimately their cooperation in burying Jupiter Technologies, and associates, once and for all. From what Levy could gather, Gajeel had been the one in the worst condition of all the subjects, and had been kept in a medically induced coma to heal. Natsu, of course, had no details as to what exactly was wrong with him.

Then came the news of their arrivals back into Magnolia. Cobra had been the next to come back to Magnolia, with Sting and Rogue arriving together about a week after. Natsu explained that they had gone ahead with setting them up in Fairy Hills, and had already lined up and employed Magnolia's best psychiatrists, already dealing with them in Hargeon, to see to their care: Doctors Mira Jane and Lisanna Strauss. It was the best way they had to integrate them back into a normal life, and to help them live with their abilities.

Each time, she would look to Natsu, and wouldn't have to ask. He knew what she wanted and each time he gave her the same look of pity. She thought she would have started to take the disappointment better, but it was a stab in the chest each time.

"There's nothing new, Lev." He would say most of the time. Or the worst, "He's still not awake."

These were the phrases that she couldn't get out of her head, and they kept her up at night. Levy _insisted_ that Lucy go home for once, and spend some time in or own space, or at least with Natsu. The latter seemed to be more convincing for the blonde, as apparently she had sought a great deal of comfort from him during Levy's absence and gotten closer. At least something good came out of it.

Brown eyes fixed on the ceiling of the master bedroom, lit only by the reflection of the moonlight outside. She was happier for the solitude than she expected, being able to just candidly feel the things she was feeling. The quiet, though not ideal, allowed her to immerse fully in thoughts of him.

The final moments in the lab were hazy, and she found herself wondering if it had happened at all. It felt so distant and in many ways it was. It was difficult to keep track of the days, because they all melted together. Like grasping for smoke, she tried to keep replaying the last thing she remembered, and subconsciously her hand wandered to her lips.

Sometimes when she closed her eyes she could see him, looking at her with eyes of admiration. "Gajeel…" She found herself needing to say his name, as it was the only way she knew to keep a hold of him.

* * *

 _Urgh, fuck, that hurts. Why the hell does it hurt so bad._ Red eyes opened slowly, blinking painfully into the light.

"Get the doctor and notify the chief, he's waking up!"

He squinted and turned his head, and tried to open his mouth to speak before he realized, quite suddenly and painfully, that he had something in his mouth. Now his eyes snapped wide open, and his hands flew for his face. _What the FUCK?_

No sooner had he grabbed for the tube, did he suddenly feel someone hold down both his arms. Before he could catch up to what was happening, and react as violently as he wanted to, he could see someone in white hovering over him and then felt a weird sensation in his throat. Coughs and a choking reflex wracked him as the tube was pulled slowly from his mouth.

As soon as he was free, he let out a hoarse, crackling growl, warning people off of him so he had a chance to get his bearings. "The hell are you people doin' to me?" He shook again with another coughing fit, his voice raw and painfully dry from lack of use. He swept his eyes around the unfamiliar room accusingly, landing on the man in white he had seen first.

"Calm down, son. It can be a little unnerving coming out of the sedation; you've been under for a while. Give it a second, breathe. It's normal to have some discomfort in your throa—"

"Ya deaf?" He spat harshly, his voice cracking. "I asked a question."

"Calm _down_ , he said." Another voice, a lot more commanding than the even-toned doctor in front of him, drew his attention. The fiery red-head entered the room, and he scanned his eyes up and down the officially-dressed man. "You've been out for a long time, take it easy or you'll make it worse."

The black-haired man winced, swallowing hard and feeling the soreness radiate down his neck. "And who are ya supposed to be?" He growled, before shaking his head, "Don't care. I'll ask you since mumbles over there can't be bothered. _Where the hell am I?_ I ain't gonna ask again before I start breakin' faces."

"You're still in Hargeon, Gajeel." Igneel replied, glancing to the doctor. "You've been recovering since the explosion." The chief was met with a blank, albeit annoyed stare from the bed-ridden male. "I'm glad to see you awake, you had us worried. It looks like you're recovering well."

Still, the dragon remained in silence, as though processing the information. He swallowed hard again and rolled his head on his shoulders. "That's great." He replied, licking his lips to wet them a little, "But who the fuck is Gajeel?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Woops, I know I told y'all this was the last chapter BUT, the creative process never goes how you expect. And 20 is just a much better number than 19 don'tcha think?


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** Here we are lovelies, the end of our epic little tale. Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, and staying with me through all of this drama and the little cliffies I threw at y'all just to mess with you. (I couldn't help giving you guys one last stressful parting gift last chapter). I hope you guys enjoy, and feel as happy with this as I am.

* * *

"The hell kind of name is Gajeel." The red-eyed man growled, staring threateningly at the staff around his hospital bed.

"Focus." Igneel barked, his patience running low with the unruly dragon. He was only mildly more cooperative since the nurses dosed him with a light sedative to take the edge off. "You have to try and see what you can remember."

Gajeel shook his head, shutting his eyes for a moment. "I told you." He grumbled, "I don't remember a fuckin' thing. You can ask all ya want but ya ain't gonna get a different answer from me."

"Do the names Jose Porla or Jupiter Technology mean anything to you?" The chief pressed.

Gajeel wrinkled his nose, and huffed. "Not a thing. He important or somethin'?"

Frustrated, Igneel spun on his heel to address the doctor standing in the doorway. The chief's expression demanded answers, or any information to make this any less aggravating.

"It's not uncommon for patients who have been under this long to have some lasting effects of confusion. He sustained a significant level of injury after the event and a great deal of mental trauma. Due to his…condition, it's hard to measure exactly what happened." The doctor explained, his tone hushed as his eyes glanced to the much more subdued man in the hospital bed. "The medications _are_ fairly intensive, it's a lot of strain on the body to go through everything he has, and then come back out of it."

"Is it permanent?" Igneel asked, tight-lipped. This was not the kind of development they needed. The man had been through enough; it was time to get them home.

"Not typically, no. I've seen cases that last from a few hours to a few days, it's hard to say. Time will tell. The positive is that he is speaking, and is clearly feeling _vivacious._ " The man explained.

Igneel sighed heavily, massaging his temples. It had become a great deal more complicated, and he could see that they would be getting no statement from him regarding his experiences. But if what the doctor had said was true, hopefully it was only a matter of time. _And here I was thinking I might be able to go home soon._ _I can't tell Natsu. He'll send that poor girl into a worse state than she already is._

"I'm right here." Gajeel croaked, words a little slurred, drawing the attention of both of the men. "Quit talkin' like I ain't in the room."

 _Fucking hell_. _These people barely tell me where I am and…god damnit I can't remember._ Gajeel squinted, closing his eyes tight. He had nothing, only the name that cop kept calling him, the location of the hospital, and a raging headache. He remembered nothing beyond waking up with a tube rammed down his throat. Which was a less than enjoyable way to start the day as an evidently new person.

The pain had lessened, or he was just feeling less because of whatever they had stuck into his IV. _Unruly patient my ass. They're the ones holding me here against my will._ He huffed, trying to lift a hand to get a look at it.

His limb felt heavy as iron, and he could barely hold it up for a few seconds before he had exerted all his strength. _Damn, the hell did they give me?_ The frustration wrinkled his studded features. It was a feeling of powerlessness that he didn't much like.

"When c'n'I leave." He prompted of the men, since they apparently didn't feel inclined to speak to him yet, and the redhead shook his head first.

"Not until you're better." Igneel replied.

"That's a bullshit answer." He spat back, earning a heavy glare from the exhausted, and thusly volatile police chief.

"Look, smartass. I don't want to be here any more than you do. But I have a job to do, and I have promises to keep. So we are _going_ to get you well and we are _going_ to get you home. If you cooperate."

Gajeel shut up at that point, abashed by the scolding. But something else dried up the words in his throat. He squinted, unsure, and when it looked like the chief might leave, he called out to him. "Say again?" The words came out, a little more pressing than he had intended. "What do you have?"

Igneel lifted a brow, unsure if the boy was being smart again and provoking him. "A job."

"No," Gajeel answered, quickly. He shook his head, trying to gather his spinning and rather uncomfortable head. "The other one."

"I said I have promises to keep." Igneel shook his head dismissively, unaware of the sudden tension and chill that shot through the iron dragon. "Look, I have some phone calls to make and paperwork to fill out now that you're awake. Get some rest. Mavis knows I have miles to go before I get any sleep." And with that, the chief turned to leave with the doctor in tow, leaving behind a very quiet Gajeel.

 _I've heard that before. Someone has said that to me before._

* * *

The sun was barely rising when the blunette woke reluctantly, stirred only by the gentle but persistent padding of paws along her back. She groaned, burying her face into the pillow, but the tomcat wouldn't have it. He shifted his focus up to her head, somehow balancing all four feet on her skull and letting out a gravelly meow.

"Lily _please_ , few more minutes." Levy grumbled into her pillow. The cat stepped down from her head, onto her pillow, and turned abruptly to headbutt the girl, meowing and purring relentlessly. "Spoiled cat." The blunette mumbled, reluctantly pulling herself from the warm bed and heading into the kitchen to feed her companion.

The black cat weaved around her feet, nearly tripping her, and yowled at her all the way to the food bowl. "You would think, Mr. Wildcat, that you would have a little more poise." Levy scolded. Her eyes caught sight of the newspaper on her counter, and she frowned. It had been sitting there for a week, read and reread before being placed back onto that same spot. It was opened and folded to one article, the headline tormenting her.

 **'Jupiter Technologies Closed Permanently in Wake of Fatal Explosion.'**

She could probably recite the article from memory at this point. The surviving staff had been detained and their trials set for their involvement with the company. However, from the way the article was written, it seemed like the trial was only for the sake of following due justice, as the ethical and human rights violations of the company were so severe and monumental that a guilty ruling was the only possible outcome.

Dr. Porla never emerged from the facility, but his charred ID badge was uncovered in the rubble, and he was officially listed among the deceased. Levy could only wonder if he had perished in the chaos…or if the subjects had found him first. She bit her lip, conflicted on whether she was comfortable with either outcome. In a way, she felt he should have had to suffer justly through the trial and prison time, but the subjects were still owed their own brand of justice for what they had been through.

Her thoughts drifted to the others who, by Natsu's updates, had been adjusting slowly to their new accommodations, with little complication. However, there was still one notable absence. Her heart ached at the lack of information on a certain iron dragon.

An impatient yowl from her furred companion brought her back to the present, and Levy shook off her swirling thoughts and shook some kibble into the cat's bowl.

But instead of rushing straight for the food, the cat paused over the food, then lifted his head and looked to the door. His tail flicked quickly, ears poised forward. Lily bounded back into the living room, heading straight for the front door. Howling relentlessly, he paced back in forth in front of the door, and jumped up to try and paw at the handle.

"Lily!" She called to him, padding across the living room and running her hand through her wild blue bedhead. "What's going on, I put out your breakfast." It was too early for this nonsense. She had barely rubbed the sleep from her eyes and the dawn was only just casting its grey light on the snow outside.

She peeked through the peephole and could see nothing, but the cat would not relent. "What, take the Wildcat comment to heart, did you?" Levy unlocked the door, chalking this up to cats just being…cats, and opened the door. Immediately Lily bounded out into the snow, heading out across the yard and down into the rest of the neighborhood. Hugging herself, shivering, Levy could only quirk a brow, assuming the cat would be back sooner or later for the breakfast that he snubbed.

Feeling a cold draft move in and threaten to chill her whole house, Levy moved to close the door and retreat back inside, when movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. "Lily—" She started to call, when the words went dry in her throat, and suddenly she forgot about the cold entirely. Her honey-brown eyes widened, and the air all but left her lungs.

The tall, broad figure trudged down the way through the snow, eyes lowered to the path in front and the dark tomcat following behind. Bundled in a large black coat, hair billowing about his shoulders and into his face; Levy could barely make out the features from where she was. But she knew. Of course she knew.

Slowly, crimson eyes lifted to meet hers, and his gaze brought everything crashing down around her. A playful smirk tugged at his lips, but the look in his eyes told of far more than that. Relief, desire, adoration…the way that he looked at her in that exact moment was enough to stop her heart. He stood stark against the snow, and gentle flakes drifted about him.

The reflecting light of the snow cast her in the glow of an angel, despite how disheveled from sleep she was. Though he tried to remain steady in his approach, the look of those warm, beautiful eyes was enough to make him weak in the knees. Hell, it was enough to make him forget he had knees at all. She was there, safe, back in her little-big house, looking at him like he was the only thing that existed in that moment. And with the still, frigid quiet of the morning, it was easy enough to feel that way.

Levy's hands rose to cover her mouth, trying to stifle the inevitable cries that had built up in her chest when he stopped in front of her. He was alive, and he was _home_. Every day of these past several weeks seemed to melt away along with all the fear, worry, and sadness. Because he was _here._ Levy choked out a sound that might've been words, before shakily reaching up with one hand and touching his chest, to assure herself he was real. He tilted his head, and she drew her hand back quickly.

"What, nothin' to say after all this time, shorty? This all I get?" Finally he broke the silence. There was so much more he wanted to say than that. But Gajeel didn't trust himself to find the words to convey how unspeakably relieved he was to see her safe, how stunningly beautiful she was, and how whole he felt right here in front of her. How human she made him feel.

The sound of his voice was all she needed to be absolutely certain that this was real. She couldn't help the tears that started to well up and finally she tried to speak. "G-Gajeel, you—you're…" The words failed her again, and she shook her head uselessly.

"Home?" He answered for her, smiling gently. Levy nodded quickly, the tears trailing down her cheeks. With the smell of salt, he couldn't bare to not touch her any longer. Gajeel reached out and took her wrists gently, pulling her hands away from her face. Levy stared up at him; big, brown, watery eyes following his movements. He leaned forward slightly, releasing her wrists as one hand went to her cheek and the other found its way to the small of her back to pull her, slowly, against him. He could feel her shudder under his hands and ignite the burning in his cheeks. Still, she leaned into his touch, and as he pressed his forehead to hers, both of their eyes fluttering shut, he could feel his previously spastic heart start to find peace.

"I love you too." He said softly, the words washing over her. Words she had previously uttered to him in fire and smoke and chaos, he now returned to her in the still, icy silence of morning. "You pulled me from the dark, Levy. I've always loved you."

Levy let out a laugh, sparkling with joy, and reached up to place her own hands on his face. She felt like she had been here so many times before. "You have to stay for good…okay?" She whispered.

Gajeel chuckled, "You're stuck with me and the cat." He breathed deep, and the scent of lavender centered him. His thumb brushed her cheek lovingly, and he could not shake the notion that these hands of his had wrought so much destruction in his past. They had brandished iron claws and struck fear into so many. Then, here was this perfect woman, the near ethereal creature that sought his touch despite having seen every side of him. Her willingness to trust him regardless drove him to resolve, as he had so many times before, to protect her.

This resolve pulled him forward. He paused, close enough to her lips that he could feel the warmth radiating from her. She did not hesitate, she did not refuse him, and it was the last bit of acceptance he needed. Slowly, tenderly, he brushed his lips across hers, and finally closed the gap. She drew in a sharp breath, but leaned willingly into him.

In that moment, Levy felt so full, and so warm that she forgot about the cold biting at her cheeks. Suddenly Levy felt present, she felt like she belonged here, and he with her. Everything they had suffered through felt so distant, almost enough to wonder if it had ever happened at all. Because surely this was how they had meant to be, and had always been.

Pulled up to him, wrapped in his warmth, she realized then that Gajeel had become her home, and that she was his second chance. The house behind her filled back up with life and warmth, punctuated by a little black cat that slipped past the pair in the doorway and stopped in the center of the living room with a quiet swish of his tail, waiting for them. The blunette broke from him, only for her hand to move to take his and draw the hazy-eyed man in with her. "It's cold, come inside." She said gently, a smile lighting up her face that left him feeling, again, that he could bask in that warmth for the rest of his life. And now, for the first time, he had a chance to.


End file.
